When War Came
War came, one day, and drew us close together,
Although it swept us many miles apart;
The love that lay as lightly as a feather,
Now rests, a precious weight, upon my heart.
And all the dreams I dreamed for just the dreaming,
Have taken on a meaning that is new;
And somehow all the lonely world is seeming,
To cry aloud my aching need of you!
Because you were so much a part of living,
Like sunshine and the freshness of the air,
The priceless gift of faith that you were giving
Seemed small to me. Scarce knowing you were there
I took your heart-strings in my careless fingers,
And played a song as light as summer dew,
And yet, today, its wistful echo lingers
And fills an empty world with thoughts of you.
I did not think that I would ever miss you,
I did not dream the time would come to be
When I would long to touch your hand, to kiss you—
To hear your voice say tender words to me.
I did not know that I would wonder whether
My head would rest, once more, against your heart....
War came, my dear, and drew us close together,
Although it swept us many miles apart!