By the Sea, and Other Verses

<h2><SPAN name="TO_WINNIE" id="TO_WINNIE">TO WINNIE</SPAN></h2> <p class="title">ON HER WEDDING DAY</p> <div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Stars will shine on, tho thou art gone,<br/></span> <span class="i2">But we shall miss the gleaming<br/></span> <span class="i0">Of one bright eye's responsive smile,<br/></span> <span class="i2">And love-light softly beaming.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">And flowers will bloom,&mdash;but we shall miss<br/></span> <span class="i2">A fragrance and a beauty<br/></span> <span class="i0">That brightened for us here and there<br/></span> <span class="i2">The sombre path of duty.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">And friends will greet us on our way,<br/></span> <span class="i2">But we shall miss the sweetness<br/></span> <span class="i0">Of a fair presence that hath made<br/></span> <span class="i2">So much of life's completeness.<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">And yet 'tis well; we give thee joy,<br/></span> <span class="i2">And pray with this caressing;<br/></span> <span class="i0">That love and peace without alloy<br/></span> <span class="i2">May be thy bridal blessing.<br/></span></div> </div> <hr class="chap" /><p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</SPAN></span></p> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />