Higginson and Bigelow, comps. American Sonnets. 1891.
When she comes homeJames Whitcomb Riley (18491916)
W
I fashion, to myself, the tenderness
Of my glad welcome: I shall tremble—yes;
And touch her as when first in the old days
I touched her girlish hand, nor dared upraise
Mine eyes, such was my faint heart’s sweet distress.
Then silence, and the perfume of her dress:
The room will sway a little, and a haze
Cloy eyesight—soulsight, even—for a space:
And tears—yes; and the ache here in the throat,
To know that I so ill deserve the place
Her arms make for me; and the sobbing note
I stay with kisses, ere the tearful face
Again is hidden in the old embrace.