I seek to call you near me in the dark
And silent prison of my solitude,
Where Memory with visions heaven-hued
Now mocks the night, and Hope with timid spark
Kindles vain torches. Lonely in my ark
Of Faith, on battling waves I float, pursued
By all those doubting monsters that delude
Pain-sunken breasts, and bid the soul embark
For perilous despair. I call you near
That I may cheat the helmsman of his fear:
And yet I know you far, I know you lost
To me, on this same ocean tempest-tossed
Alone — O you who should my pilot be!
You, whom my love could steer through any sea....