BY THE SEA - I started early, took my dog
I started early, took my dog, / And visited the sea;
'T was a long parting, but the time
For interview had come;
Before the judgment-seat of God,
The last and second time
These fleshless lovers met,
A heaven in a gaze,
A heaven of heavens, the privilege
Of one another's eyes.
No lifetime set on them,
Apparelled as the new
Unborn, except they had beheld,
Born everlasting now.
Was bridal e'er like this?
A paradise, the host,
And cherubim and seraphim
The most familiar guest.
I started early, took my dog, / And visited the sea;
Pink, small, and punctual, / Aromatic, low,
Two butterflies went out at noon / And waltzed above a stream,
He put the belt around my life, -- / I heard the buckle snap,