<h2><SPAN name="MEETING_IN_THE_WOODS" id="MEETING_IN_THE_WOODS"></SPAN>MEETING IN THE WOODS</h2>
<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Through ferns and moss the path wound to<br/></span>
<span class="i1">A hollow where the touchmenots<br/></span>
<span class="i0">Swung horns of honey filled with dew;<br/></span>
<span class="i0">And where—like foot-prints—violets blue<br/></span>
<span class="i1">And bluets made sweet sapphire blots,<br/></span>
<span class="i0">'Twas there that she had passed he knew.<br/></span></div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">The grass, the very wilderness<br/></span>
<span class="i1">On either side, breathed rapture of<br/></span>
<span class="i0">Her passage: 'twas her hand or dress<br/></span>
<span class="i0">That touched some tree—a slight caress—<br/></span>
<span class="i1">That made the wood-birds sing above;<br/></span>
<span class="i0">Her step that made the flowers up-press.<br/></span></div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">He hurried, till across his way,<br/></span>
<span class="i1">Foam-footed, bounding through the wood,<br/></span>
<span class="i0">A brook, like some wild girl at play,<br/></span>
<span class="i0">Went laughing loud its roundelay;<br/></span>
<span class="i1">And there upon its bank she stood,<br/></span>
<span class="i0">A sunbeam clad in woodland gray.<br/></span></div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">And when she saw him, all her face<br/></span>
<span class="i1">Grew to a wildrose by the stream;<br/></span>
<span class="i0">And to his breast a moment's space<br/></span>
<span class="i0">He gathered her; and all the place<br/></span>
<span class="i1">Seemed conscious of some happy dream<br/></span>
<span class="i0">Come true to add to Earth its grace.<br/></span></div>
<div class="stanza">
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</SPAN></span>
<span class="i0">Some joy, on which Heav'n was intent—<br/></span>
<span class="i1">For which God made the world—the bliss,<br/></span>
<span class="i0">The love, that raised her innocent<br/></span>
<span class="i0">Pure face to his that, smiling, bent<br/></span>
<span class="i1">And sealed confession with a kiss—<br/></span>
<span class="i0">Life needs no other testament.<br/></span></div>
</div>
<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</SPAN></span></p>
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