The Quest for Joy.
Reading edition
I.
A phantom I follow forever through all of the shadow and shine, Whose face is fair as the blossom, whose form is as warm as the wine; Whose lips are as sweet as the dewfalls that velvet the mornings of June, And eyes as the deep stars of Autumn that glow in the glories of noon!
II.
A phantom I follow forever! Yet never on ocean or land Have I heard the sweet voice of her music or leaped at the thrill of her hand, And never, ah, never a greeting she gives that is tender and kind, As I follow through mazes of beauty where flowers in her foot-steps I find!
III.
A phantom I follow forever! What matter though careless of me, She drifts to the sands of the desert and sails on the wave-tossing sea? With foot never parched by the barrens, with boat never broken by storm, I follow, I follow her passing and clutch at the wraith of her form!
IV.
And still I will follow the phantom! Whatever the questing may seem I'll conquer the spoil of her glory and climb to the crown of her dream; And over the deeps of my yearning and over the hills of my hope, She leads and I follow forever, wherever her phantasies grope!
V.
And there at the last I shall find her—the angel that led me afar,— And we shall rejoice in the raptures where all the beatitudes are, And whether the journey be little, or whether the journey be long, I press the red lips of her beauty and leap at the lilt of her song!