Part 6 / Book 2 — ABSENT, YET PRESENT.

As the flight of a river That flows to the sea, My soul rushes ever In tumult to thee. A twofold existence I am where thou art; My heart in the distance Beats close to thy heart. Look up, I am near thee, I gaze on thy face; I see thee, I hear thee, I feel thine embrace. As a magnet's control on The steel it draws to it, Is the charm of thy soul on The thoughts that pursue it. And absence but brightens The eyes that I miss, And custom but heightens The spell of thy kiss. It is not from duty, Though that may be owed,— It is not from beauty, Though that be bestow'd; But all that I care for, And all that I know, Is that, without wherefore, I worship thee so. Through granite as breaketh A tree to the ray, As a dreamer forsaketh The grief of the day, My soul in its fever Escapes unto thee; O dream to the griever, O light to the tree! A twofold existence I am where thou art; Hark, hear in the distance The beat of my heart!