IF to be absent were to be         Away from thee;       Or that when I am gone       You or I were alone;     Then, my Lucasta, might I crave Pity from blustering wind or swallowing wave.

    But I'll not sigh one blast or gale         To swell my sail,       Or pay a tear to 'suage       The foaming blue god's rage;     For whether he will let me pass Or no, I'm still as happy as I was.

    Though seas and land betwixt us both,         Our faith and troth,       Like separated souls,       All time and space controls:     Above the highest sphere we meet Unseen, unknown; and greet as Angels greet.

    So then we do anticipate         Our after-fate,       And are alive i' the skies,       If thus our lips and eyes     Can speak like spirits unconfined In Heaven, their earthy bodies left behind.