Now by the Path I Climbed

Now by the path I climbed, I journey back. The oaks have grown; I have been long away.

Taking with me your memory and your lack

I now descend into a milder day; Stripped of your love, unburdened of my hope, / Descend the path I mounted from the plain; Yet steeper than I fancied seems the slope

And stonier, now that I go down again. Warm falls the dusk; the clanking of a bell

Faintly ascends upon this heavier air; I do recall those grassy pastures well:

In early spring they drove the cattle there. And close at hand should be a shelter, too, / From which the mountain peaks are not in view.