From The Birmingham Age Herald, October 17, 1913. By Richard Monckton Milnes.
I wandered by the brookside,
I wandered by the mill;
I could not hear the brook flow,
The noisy wheel was still;
There was no burr of grasshopper,
No chirp of any bird,
But the beating of my own heart
Was all the sound I heard.
I sat beneath the elm tree;
I watched the long, long shade,
And as it grew still longer
I did not feel afraid;
For I listened for a footfall,
I listened for a word,
But the breathing of my own heart
Was all the sound I heard.
He came not—no, he came not—
The night came on alone,
The little stars sat one by one,
Each on his golden throne;
The evening wind passed by my cheek,
The leaves above were stirred,
But the beating of my own heart
Was all the sound I heard.
Fast silent tears were flowing,
When something stood behind;
A hand was on my shoulder,
I knew its touch was kind;
It drew me nearer—nearer,
We did not speak one word,
But the beating of our own hearts
Was all the sound we heard.