"Sunshine! O heart of gold! to die! to die!" IX She died on Christmas day -- it seems so sad That one you love should die on Christmas day. Head-bowed I knelt by her; O God! I had No tears to shed, no moan, no prayer to pray. I heard her whisper: "Call me, will you, dear? They say Death parts, but I won't go away. I will be with you in the cabin here; Oh I will plead with God to let me stay! Stay till the Night is gone, till Spring is nigh, Till sunshine comes . . . be brave . . . I'm tired . . . good-bye. . . ." X For weeks, for months I have not seen the sun; The minatory dawns are leprous pale; The felon days malinger one by one; How like a dream Life is! how vain! how stale! I, too, am faint; that vampire-like disease Has fallen on me; weak and cold am I, Hugging a tiny fire in fear I freeze: The cabin must be cold, and so I try To bear the frost, the frost that fights decay, The frost that keeps her beautiful alway. XI She lies within an icy vault; It glitters like a cave of salt. All marble-pure and angel-sweet With candles at her head and feet, Under an ermine robe she lies. I kiss her hands, I kiss her eyes: "Come back, come back, O Love, I pray, Into this house, this house of clay! Answer my kisses soft and warm; Nestle again within my arm. Come! for I know that you are near; Open your eyes and look, my dear. Just for a moment break the mesh;