Longing

[First published 1852. Reprinted 1855.]

COME to me in my dreams, and then

By day I shall be well again.

For then the night will more than pay

The hopeless longing of the day.

Come, as thou cam’st a thousand times,

A messenger from radiant climes,

And smile on thy new world; and be

As kind to others as to me.

Or, as thou never cam’st in sooth,

Come now, and let me dream it truth.

And part my hair, and kiss my brow,

And say—My love! why sufferest thou?

Come to me in my dreams, and then

By day I shall be well again.

For then the night will more than pay

The hopeless longing of the day.