Regrets
As, when the seaward ebbing tide doth pour Out by the low sand spaces, The parting waves slip back to clasp the shore With lingering embraces,— So in the tide of life that carries me From where thy true heart dwells, Waves of my thoughts and memories turn to thee With lessening farewells; Waving of hands; dreams, when the day forgets; A care half lost in cares; The saddest of my verses; dim regrets; Thy name among my prayers. I would the day might come, so waited for, So patiently besought, When I, returning, should fill up once more Thy desolated thought; And fill thy loneliness that lies apart In still, persistent pain. Shall I content thee, O thou broken heart, As the tide comes again, And brims the little sea-shore lakes, and sets Seaweeds afloat, and fills The silent pools, rivers and rivulets Among the inland hills?
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