Sara Teasdale — The Ghost

I went back to the clanging city,    I went back where my old loves stayed, But my heart was full of my new love's glory,    My eyes were laughing and unafraid. I met one who had loved me madly   And told his love for all to hear— But we talked of a thousand things together,    The past was buried too deep to fear. I met the other, whose love was given    With never a kiss and scarcely a word— Oh, it was then the terror took me    Of words unuttered that breathed and stirred. Oh, love that lives its life with laughter    Or love that lives its life with tears Can die—but love that is never spoken   Goes like a ghost through the winding years. . . . I went back to the clanging city,   I went back where my old loves stayed, My heart was full of my new love's glory,—   But my eyes were suddenly afraid.