Sunlit Hours

<SPAN name="XII"></SPAN>XII<br/> <br/> <br/> At that time when in loneliness I stood,<br/> And desolation deep within me froze<br/> My life, you shone from out the multitude&mdash;<br/> A glowing window on a winter eve<br/> Across the windy surface of the snows.<br/> Your piteous heart brought sweet reprieve,<br/> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Caressingly, to me in need,</span><br/> Like breath of spring from off some warmèd mead.<br/> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">And faith did then command</span><br/> That frankness, tenderness and troth<br/> Should dwell with friendly hand in hand<br/> Within the wind-hushed stillness of us both.<br/> Since then, though summer melts the winter cold<br/> Within, and under skies whose leaping fire<br/> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Designs with gold</span><br/> All the winding pathways of our thought;<br/> Though flaming love itself is brought<br/> To far-flung blossoms of desire,<br/> That endlessly, to gain in might,<br/> <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Seek endless birth anew;</span><br/> Always I look to that dear light<br/> Whose sweetness first I knew.<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />