Nighttime often finds me conversing
With the moon, my loyal sentry;
But when Love's memories come to call
Too willingly I grant them entry

At times the moon seems indifferent,
And behind clouds vanishes from sight;
(He too sails an ocean of darkness --
With loneliness that matches my plight.)

As distant bells announce the twelfth hour
Solitude spreads its cloak of gray,
How can I dismiss those memories
That still guide my footsteps by day?

As ghosts of love come marching past me--
What yearnings these visions invite;
And while I'm absorbed in reverie
My bleak realm is aglow with Love's light

Grateful, I relive  those lost moments ---
Those joys  Fate has chosen  to smite,
When Yesterday's hand gently guides me
Through those hours of unbridled delight

With or without the moon's radiance,
I'll follow this path,  for I know
By and by I'll reach that green valley
Where streams of sweet memories flow