Husband and Wife
O, proudly I stood in the rare Sunrise,
As the dawn of your beauty brake;
But I fear'd for the storm, as I lookt at the skies,
And trembled for your sweet sake!
And O, may the evil days come not, I said.
As I yearn'd o'er my tender blossom!
Strong arm of love! shelter the dear one's head:
And I nestled you in my bosom.
May the tears never dim the love-light of her eye,—
May her Life be all Spring-weather!—
Was the prayer of my heart, ere you, Love, and I,
Were Husband and Wife together.
But the suns will shine, and the rains will fall,
On the loftiest, lowliest spot!
And there's mourning and merriment mingled for all
That inherit the human lot.
So we've suffer'd and sorrow'd and grown more strong,
Heart-to-heart, side-by-side, we have striven,
With the love that makes summer-tide all the year long,
And the heart that is its own heaven!
We clung the more close as the storm swept by,
And kept the nest warm in cold weather:
And seldom we've falter'd since you, Love, and I,
Have been Husband and Wife together!
Like the sweet wild flowers of the wilderness,
You have dwelt life to life with Nature;
And caught the wild beauty and grace of her ways,
And grown to her heavenlier stature!
In golden calm, and in quickening strife,
Hath your womanly worth unfolden:
And sunshine and show'r have enricht your life,
And ripen'd its harvest golden.
There is good in the grimmest cloud o' the sky,
There are blessings in wintry weather:
Even grief hath its glory, since you, Love, and I,
Have been husband and Wife together.
O, Life is not perfect with Love's first kiss:
Who would win the blessing must wrestle;
And the deeper the sorrow, the dearer the bliss,
That in its rich core may nestle!
Our Angels oft greet us in tearful guise,
And our saviours come in sorrow:
While the murkiest midnight that frowns from the skies,
Is at heart a radiant Morrow!
We laugh and we cry, we sing and we sigh,
And Life will have wintry weather!
So we'll hope, and love on, since you, Love, and I,
Are husband and Wife together.