Poetic Divination | Love’s Nearness

“Love’s Nearness ”

by Henry Van Dyke

I think of thee, when golden sunbeams shimmer

Across the sea;

And when the waves reflect the moon’s pale glimmer,

I think of thee.

I see thy form, when down the distant highway

The dust-clouds rise;

In deepest night, above the mountain by-way,

I see thine eyes.

I hear thee when the ocean-tides returning

Loudly rejoice;

And on the lonely moor, in stillness yearning,

I hear thy voice.

I dwell with thee: though thou art far removed,

Yet art thou near.

The sun goes down, the stars shine out, —

Beloved,

Ah, wert thou here!