Cross Roads

THE REFUGE

     We hurried, once, down the purple road,
        When a storm hung low in the sky;
     And we gained the door of Love's abode
        As the silver rain flashed by.
     Our steps rang out as we crossed the sill,
        And the place was dimly bright,
     And even our hearts seemed strangely still,
        While our searching hands clasped tight.

     We waited there while the wind moaned past
        And the thunder crashed in the air;
     And the door of Love's abode blew fast,
        But we didn't know—or care!
     For we heard a song in the driving rain,
        And the sky seemed warmly gray;
     And the tempest rang with a mad refrain,
        And the world seemed years away.
        .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

     We have wandered far from the road of dreams,
        We have crept from the house of love;
     And the scorching sun of the noonday gleams
        From the pitiless sky above.
     But once, ah, once—in that dusky place,
        When the lightning flashed through the air,
     I saw its flame on your upturned face,
        And its glow on your vivid hair.

     We have strayed away—we have strayed away—
        For the world is all too wide....
     But once I came through the stormy day,
        And you walked, proud, at my side.
     AND, OH, FOR THE FEEL OF THE RAIN AGAIN,
        AND, OH, FOR THE PURPLE ROAD,
     AND, OH, FOR THE JOY AND THE PAIN AGAIN,
        THAT WE KNEW IN LOVE'S ABODE!