Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By Mary EmilyBradley

646 Beyond Recall

THERE was a time when Death and I

Came face to face together:

I was but young indeed to die,

And it was summer weather;

One happy year a wedded wife,

And I was slipping out of life.

You knelt beside me, and I heard,

As from some far-off distance,

A bitter cry that dimly stirred

My soul to make resistance.

You thought me dead; you called my name;

And back from Death itself I came.

But oh! that you had made no sign,

That I had heard no crying!

For now the yearning voice is mine,

And there is no replying:

Death never could so cruel be

As Life—and you—have proved to me!