COMPANIONED
At daybreak when the sunrise layAlong the desert sand,I buckled girth and tightened rein,And rode to win the land;I rode as rides a careless youthWho fears no evil tide;But from the dark a phantom starkPressed out to gain my side.Gray-cowled and still he nearer drew,The morning air grew chill;The wind wailed low the while I turnedAnd bade him name his will:“My will it is to ride with thee,Whatever chance betide;For good or ill to follow still,More close than friend or bride.”My heart turned cold, my arm grew weak;I struck a stinging spurAnd strove at maddest pace to loseThat ghostly follower.We reeled upon the desert’s verge,My hard-pressed steed and I,—And full beside through that wild rideThe wraith smiled silently.He clasped my hand, he touched my browWith lips that froze and burned;“Now art thou mine to have and holdTill all the tale be learned.Put by the whip and ringing spur;Put by the brave array;For thou with me shall presentlyGo forth in hodden gray.“I lay my chrism upon thine eyesThat thy blind soul may seeThe grandeur rife in human life,Its joy and misery.”—So fare we softly side by side,Nor ever turn again;And now I hail the presence “Friend,”Who once had called him “Pain.”