Part 2 — "I SHALL NOT CRY RETURN"
Reading edition
I shall not cry Return! Return! Nor weep my years away; But just as long as sunsets burn, And dawns make no delay, I shall be lonesome—I shall miss Your hand, your voice, your smile, your kiss.
Not often shall I speak your name, For what would strangers care That once a sudden tempest came And swept my gardens bare, And then you passed, and in your place Stood Silence with her lifted face.
Not always shall this parting be, For though I travel slow, I, too, may claim eternity And find the way you go; And so I do my task and wait The opening of the outer gate.
Ellen M. H. Gates [1835-1920]