The Miracle

Folk housed together day by day,
Or working side by side in gardens, at a desk, or on a
boat,
Or being of one city born, or being mother and son
Say, we know each other's souls as one.

Not I.
You I have loved most madly,
You I have cared for most enduringly,
Who truly gave me birth and whiten daily as I watch you
age,
You by whose side I sleep,
By whom I brought into the world our children,
You are to me more unexplainable than miracles.

Acquaintance does not solve you.
The more I know you, the stranger, queerer, more fan-
tastic you become.
As I love you more, you are the more a mystery.
A moment comes when I am sure of you^___and suddenly
A wall cuts off the view.
The dearest intimacy sometimes puts the greatest space
between.

Birth, infinity, the space beyond the stars
Have ever made me wonder.
But you are more elusive.
I do not care if these refuse to let me fathom them.
But you whose name and mine are joined
By all who know me,
Why should you tantalize me like a half-remembered
word ?

The greatest satisfaction God can have I think
Is He can look into your heart and understand.

^__Margaret E. Haughawout.

Sheep's Clothing
Margaret E. Haughawout
Pages 67-68
(Pittsburg, Kansas: __. 1929)