If to be absent were to be
......Away from thee;
...Or that when I am gone
...You or I were alone;
Then, my Lucasta, might I crave
Pity from blustering wind or swallowing wave.
But I'll not sigh one blast or gale
......To swell my sail,
...Or pay a tear to 'suage
...The foaming blue god's rage;
For whether he will let me pass
Or no, I'm still as happy as I was.
Though seas and land betwixt us both,
......Our faith and troth,
...Like separated souls,
...All time and space controls:
Above the highest sphere we meet
Unseen, unknown; and greet as Angels greet.
So then we do anticipate
......Our after-fate,
...And are alive i' the skies,
...If thus our lips and eyes
Can speak like spirits unconfined
In Heaven, their earthy bodies left behind.
Richard Lovelace
