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Madison Julius Cawein
If I Were Her Lover
I
If I were her lover,
I'd wade through the clover
Over the fields before
The gate that leads to her door;
Over the meadows,
To wait, 'mid the shadows,
The shadows that circle her door,
For the heart of my heart and more.
And there in the clover
Close by her,
Over and over
I'd sigh her:
"Your eyes are as brown
As the Night's, looking down
On waters that sleep
With the moon in their deep" . . .
If I were her lover to sigh her.
II
If I were her lover,
I'd wade through the clover
Over the fields before
The lane that leads to her door;
I'd wait, 'mid the thickets,
Or there by the pickets,
White pickets that fence in her door,
For the life of my life and more.
I'd lean in the clover-
The crisper
For the dews that are over-
And whisper:
"Your lips are as rare
As the dewberries there,
As ripe and as red,
On the honey-dew fed" . . .
If I were her lover to whisper.
III
If I were her lover,
I'd wade through the clover
Over the field before
The pathway that leads to her door;
And watch, in the twinkle
Of stars that sprinkle
The paradise over her door,
For the soul of my soul and more.
And there in the clover
I'd reach her;
And over and over
I'd teach her-
A love without sighs,
Of laughterful eyes,
That reckoned each second
The pause of a kiss,
A kiss and . . . that is
If I were her lover to teach her.
