I Speak Your Name / Sophie Jewett

I Speak Your Name

I speak your name in alien ways, while yet
November smiles from under lashes wet.
     In the November light I see you stand
     Who love the fading woods and withered land,
Where Peace may walk, and Death, but not Regret.

The year is slow to alter or forget;
June’s glow and autumn’s tenderness are met,
     Across the months by this swift sunlight spanned.
          I speak your name.

Because I loved your golden hair, God set
His sea between our eyes. I may not fret,
     For, sure and strong, to meet my soul’s demand,
     Comes your soul’s truth. more near than hand in hand;
And low to God, who listens, Margaret,
          I speak your name.

~~
Sophie Jewett
from The Poems of Sophie Jewett, 1910

[Poem is in the public domain worldwide]

Sophie Jewett biography