Poems (King)/Ad Amicam
Ad Amicam
DEAR friend who dwellest in the magic West,
Where swells and falls the great Pacific sea,
What mighty barriers rise 'twixt thee and me!
The white Sierras soaring crest o'er crest,
Grim gorge and frowning cañon's rugged breast,
The Rockies springing skyward from the lea—
All bar me from communion sweet with thee,
Though keen the hunger of the heart oppressed.
Where swells and falls the great Pacific sea,
What mighty barriers rise 'twixt thee and me!
The white Sierras soaring crest o'er crest,
Grim gorge and frowning cañon's rugged breast,
The Rockies springing skyward from the lea—
All bar me from communion sweet with thee,
Though keen the hunger of the heart oppressed.
But when before the altar shrine I kneel,
Where from the world Love's Prisoner dwells apart,
Lo! in that trysting-place divine I feel
The absent near; then healed is sorrow's smart,
And barriers vanishing that friends conceal,
I see thee, hear thee, fold thee to my heart!
Where from the world Love's Prisoner dwells apart,
Lo! in that trysting-place divine I feel
The absent near; then healed is sorrow's smart,
And barriers vanishing that friends conceal,
I see thee, hear thee, fold thee to my heart!