Page:All quiet along the Potomac and other poems.djvu/32

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How can I tell, my darling, What you would choose to say, If the bright brown eyes were open, The white lid drawn away? Never was doorway barred So close as the blue-veined gate; Wake! I am here, my darling; I would, but I cannot, wait.

Softly the shining glory Lifts in the waking eyes, And a flash like summer lightning Tells of a glad surprise.

Then, with a lover's craving, I ask of the eyes again If their tale is true for ever, And find, with a jealous pain,

That behind their brightest glitter Lies that I cannot see, And thoughts may crouch behind them That speak no word to me.

O human soul so near me, Still with thy visor barred, When shall I know thee truly, Without thy starry guard?&mdash;

Never to read thee better, Never to read aright,