A Silent Guest

We sit and chat in the familiar place,—
We two, where in those other years were three,—
Till, suddenly, you turn your eyes from me,.
And in the empty air I see a face,
Serenely smiling with the old-time grace,
And we are three again. All silently
The third guest entered; and as silent we,
Held mute by very awe for some brief space.

And then we question—Has he come to stay?
Was heaven lonely to the child of earth?
Was there no nectar in immortal bliss
For lips that thirsted for a mortal kiss?
Has the new lesson taught the old love's worth?
The still ghost hears, and smiles, and—goes his way.