CREED. I. I believe, if I should die, And you should kiss my eyelids when I lie Cold, dead, and dumb to all the world contains, The folded orbs would open at thy breath, And from its exile in the Isles of Death Life would come gladly back along my veins. II. I believe, if I were dead, And you upon my lifeless heart should tread, It would find sudden pulse beneath the touch And throb again warm, tender, true to thee. III. I believe, if on my grave, Hidden in woody deeps or by the wave, Your eyes should drop some warm tears of regret, From every salty seed of your dear grief Some fair, sweet blossom would leap into leaf To prove death could not make my love forget. IV. I believe, if I should fade Into those mystic realms where light is made, And you should long once more my face to see, I would come forth upon the hills of night, And gather stars like fagots, till thy sight, Led by their beacon blaze, fell full on me! V. I believe my faith in thee, Strong as my life, so nobly placed to be, I would as soon expect to see the sun VI. I believe who has not loved Hath half the treasure of his life unproved; Like one who, with the grape within his grasp, Drops it, with all its crimson juice unpressed, And all its luscious sweetness left unguessed, Out from his careless and unheeding clasp. VII. I believe love, pure and true, Is to the soul a sweet, immortal dew That gems life's petals in its hours of dusk: When life falls from us like a withered husk. |