Alone they walked--their fingers knit together, br And swaying listlessly as might a swing br Wherein Dan Cupid dangled in the weather br Of some sun-flooded afternoon of Spring. br br Within the clover-fields the tickled cricket br Laughed lightly as they loitered down the lane, br And from the covert of the hazel-thicket br The squirrel peeped and laughed at them again. br br The bumble-bee that tipped the lily-vases br Along the road-side in the shadows dim, br Went following the blossoms of their faces br As though their sweets must needs be shared with him. br br Between the pasture bars the wondering cattle br Stared wistfully, and from their mellow bells br Shook out a welcoming whose dreamy rattle br Fell swooningly away in faint farewells. br br And though at last the gloom of night fell o'er them, br And folded all the landscape from their eyes, br They only know the dusky path before them br Was leading safely on to Paradise.