Two shall be born the whole wide world apart
And speak in different tongues
And have no heed each of the other's being
And no thought
And these same two
O'er unknown seas to unknown lands shall cross
Escaping wreck, defying death
And all unconsciously
Shape each act and bend each wandering step
To this one end:
That one day out of darkness they must meet
And read life's meaning in each other's eyes
And these same two
Along some narrow path of life shall walk
So nearly side by side
That should one, or other, turn ever so little space
To left, or right
They needs must stand acknowledged
And yet
With searching eyes that never meet
With groping hands that never clasp
With lips calling in vain to ears that never hear
They seek each other all their weary days
And die
unsatisfied
And such is fate.
--
Christina Rossetti