Roaming And Exile

Dreamer and beloved, I know thine home.
I know the place where thou never canst stay.
Dreamer and beloved, must thou ever roam?
Dreamer and beloved, must thou away?

For I do not go out to join thy roaming;
I stay in thine home, and I kindle the fire,
So that, when thou art coming through gloaming,
Thou mightest find my love and desire.

Thou comest in like a hawk on wide wings,
And sometimes, though light calleth thee,
Thy speech is peppered with uncommon things,
And thine eyes see past rather than to me.

But such times are never the happy ones,
Never the times when I see thee smile,
Shy as a desert flower under the harsh suns,
Willing to spend time in my light for awhile.

But always thou turnest back to the night.
Cast thyself into the dark thou might well,
But always I will lure thee back to the light;
Always I will draw thee out of thy shell.

My little one, my wanderer, why roamest thou?
Whatever thou seest, out there in the night,
Maketh thine heart shiver and thy spirits bow,
And always colder thou returnest from flight.

Give me but a chance to check thy roaming.
I promise, tonight, when thou comest in,
Mine effulgence shall drive back the gloaming;
The home shall be safe and secure against wind.

Then in the light, in our guarded bower,
I shall show thee the home of mine heart.
I imagine thy smile, slow with sweet power,
With all the beauty, all the love that thou art.

Mine heart's house is shut up long since,
Shut up, and the shutters bang in the wind.
Shall I tell thee what thoughts make me wince,
And thou canst tell me how thou hast sinned?

My love, why to roaming and to exile
Are we alone of many snug pairs condemned?
I would bleed to death for one sight of thy smile;
Thou wouldst come for me through a gale-force wind.

My love, let us join the two houses together,
And fill the twin homes with such joy and light,
That I will not leave mine house to such weather;
Thou wilt feel no need to go roaming at night;

But together we shall sit before the hearth blazing,
And laugh and smile, with our eyes alight,
Ourselves with our own raptures amazing,
Our shutters open, our wings closed from flight.

Dreamer and beloved, I know thine home.
I know the place where thine heart travels
When thou growest full too weary to roam,
And the whole cloth of thine existence unravels.

But I am already in that small house;
I am already in that home as large as the world,
Hanging up curtains and rooting out the mouse,
Making sure the sheets are neatly curled.

Thou canst not roam to escape me, for
Whenever thou goest home, there I am and stand.
Wherever thou goest, there I am before.
Thou canst not make me leave, not by any command.

Dreamer and beloved, I know thine heart.
I know thy desire to rest grows stronger.
Well, here I am; returning ever thou art,
And soon thy roaming will continue no longer;

For thine lonely heart shall be a home
Filled with light, and with happiness all about.
Then thou shalt have no need to roam,
And we shall shut ourselves in, and the night out.

I can see thy smile, already blinding.
I can hardly believe such delights lie ahead;
But be gentle, my love; I will need reminding
To light the fire when I have thy light instead.