Meeting at Night, by Robert Browning, 1812 - 1889

Meeting at Night

Robert Browning, 1812 - 1889

The gray sea and the long black land;  
And the yellow half-moon large and low:  
And the startled little waves that leap  
In fiery ringlets from their sleep,  
As I gain the cove with pushing prow,
And quench its speed i’ the slushy sand.  
  
Then a mile of warm sea-scented beach;  
Three fields to cross till a farm appears;  
A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch  
And blue spurt of a lighted match,
And a voice less loud, through joys and fears,  
Than the two hearts beating each to each!