As the flight of a river
  That flows to the sea,
My soul rushes ever
  In tumult to thee.

A twofold existence
  I am where thou art;
My heart, in the distance,
  Beats close to thy heart.

Look up, I am near thee,
  I gaze on thy face;
I see thee, I hear thee,
  I feel thine embrace.

As a magnet's control on
  The steel it draws to it,
Is the charm of thy soul on
 The thoughts that pursue it.

And absence but brightens
  The eyes that I miss,
And custom but heightens
  The spell of thy kiss.

It is not from duty,
  Tho' that may be owed,--
It is not from beauty,
  Tho' that be bestow'd;

But all that I care for
  And all that I know,
Is that, without wherefore,
  I worship thee so.

Thro' granite as breaketh
  A tree to the ray,
As a dreamer forsaketh
  The grief of the day,

My soul in its fever
  Escapes unto thee;
O dream to the griever,
  O light to the tree!

A twofold existence
  I am where thou art;
Hark, hear in the distance
  The beat of my heart!