TOGETHER You and I by this lamp with these Few books shut out the world. Our knees Touch almost in this little space. But I am glad. I see your face. The silences are long, but each Hears the other without speech. And in this simple scene there is The essence of all subtleties, The freedom from all fret and smart, The one sure sabbath of the heart. The world-we cannot conquer it, Nor change the minds of fools one whit. Here, here alone do we create Beauty and peace inviolate; Here night by night and hour by hour We build a high impregnable tower Whence may shine, now and again, A light to light the feet of men When they see the rays thereof: And this is marriage, this is love. :-Þ~~~LUDWIG LEWISOHN

The Day Is Done The day is done, and the darkness Falls from the wings of Night, As a feather is wafted downward From an eagle in his flight. I see the lights of the village. Gleam through the rain and the mist, And a feeling of sadness comes o'er me That my soul cannot resist: A feeling of sadness and longing. That is not akin to pain, And resembles sorrow only As the mist resembles the rain. Come, read to me some poem, Some simple and heartfelt lay, That shall soothe this restless feeling. And banish the thoughts of the day. Not from the grand old masters, Not from the bards sublime, Whose distant footsteps echo Through the corridors of Time. For, like strains of martial music, Their mighty thoughts suggest Life's endless toil and endeavor; And tonight I long for rest. Read from some humbler poet, Whose songs gushed from his heart, As showers from the clouds of summer, Of wonderful melodies. Such songs have power to quiet The restless pulse of care, And come like the benediction That follows after prayer. Then read from the treasured volume The poem of thy choice, And lend to the rhyme of the poet The beauty of thy voice. And the night shall be filled with music, And the cares, that infest the day, Shall fold their tents, like Arabs, And as silently steal away. :-Þ~~~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow