Beyond Recall

There was a time when Death and I Came face to face together: I was but young indeed to die, And it was summer weather; One happy year a wedded wife, And I was slipping out of life. You knelt beside me, and I heard, As from some far-off distance, A bitter cry that dimly stirred My soul to make resistance. You thought me dead; you called my name; And back from Death itself I came. But oh! that you had made no sign, That I had heard no crying! For now the yearning voice is mine, And there is no replying: Death never could so cruel be As Life—and you—have proved to me!

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