To Esclarmondo by Grace Fallow Norton

If thou couldst walk alone with thought,
Alone within the day,
Between thy soul and Heaven naught
To shadow thy white way :

If thou couldst walk alone with dreams,
Without the cloud of me —
My sudden storms, my fitful gleams,
My poor reality:

If thou couldst walk alone with light —
Would then thine eyes see true?
And were there thus a higher height
For thee, a rapture new ?

Cloud, I would melt in willing tears,
Storm, I would gladly go
Forth from thy peace through all the years,
If thou wert safer so.

But ah, who walks with thought alone?
Who is there knows but light ?
And who with naught but dreams has grown
To that desired height ?