Classic Poem

What shadows troop across the fading floor
What hush floats ever as the shadows turn!
Like ashes brooding in a sullen urn
Mocking the shades of those who went before,
My thoughts lie heavy, and I dream no more
But ever for your absent face I yearn;
And grudgingly my sombre lesson learn
Of waiting for your footstep at the door.

Mayhap my wish is selfish; just to see
Your hand in mine; to know that you are here
Close, with the lyrics of your tears or smiles;
I cannot say what this will mean to me
Nor all the ways in which I hold you dear,
Across this void of unrelenting miles.