Compensation

written by


« Reload image

LADY, I see you every day--
  More than your other lovers do;
I sit beside you at the Play,
  And in the Park I ride with you.


Through picture shows with you I roam
  With you I shop and dance and dine;
I know the hours when you're "at home"
  To no one else's knock but mine.


And yet so near and yet so far,
  I scarce dare look at you, for fear
I should remark, "How sweet you are,
  How charming, and how very dear!"


I dare not touch that hand of yours,
  Or lend my voice a tender tone;
I know my state of grace endures
  By fasting and by prayer alone.


But, in my lonely dreamlit nights,
  I kiss your hands, your lips, your eyes;
For absence grants me all the rights
  Your presence evermore denies.

© Edith Nesbit