Classic Poem

Somewhere in the world there hide
Garden-gates that no one sees
Save they come in happy twos, —
Not in ones, nor yet in threes.

But from every maiden's door
Leads a pathway straight and true;
Map and survey know it not, —
He who finds, finds room for two!

Then they see the garden-gates!
Never skies so blue as theirs,
Never flowers so many-sweet,
As for those who come in pairs.

Round and round the alleys wind:
Now a cradle bars the way,
Now a little mound, behind, —
So the two go through the day.

When no nook in all the lanes
But has heard a song or sigh,
Lo! another garden-gate
Opens as the two go by.

In they wander, knowing not;
" Five and Twenty!" fills the air
With a silvery echo low,
All about the startled pair.

Happier yet these garden-walks:
Closer, heart to heart, they lean;
Stiller, softer, falls the light;
Few the twos, and far between.

Till, at last, as on they pass
Down the paths so well they know,
Once again at hidden gates
Stand the two: they enter slow.

Golden Gates of " Fifty Years,"
May our two your latchet press!
Garden of the Sunset Land,
Hold their dearest happiness!

Then a quiet walk again:
Then a wicket in the wall:
Then one, stepping on alone, —
Then two at the Heart of All!