Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By Susan MarrSpalding

1333 Fate

TWO shall be born the whole wide world apart;

And speak in different tongues, and have no thought

Each of the other’s being, and no heed;

And these o’er unknown seas to unknown lands

Shall cross, escaping wreck, defying death,

And all unconsciously shape every act

And bend each wandering step to this one end,—

That, one day, out of darkness, they shall meet

And read life’s meaning in each other’s eyes.

And two shall walk some narrow way of life

So nearly side by side, that should one turn

Ever so little space to left or right

They needs must stand acknowledged face to face.

And yet, with wistful eyes that never meet,

With groping hands that never clasp, and lips

Calling in vain to ears that never hear,

They seek each other all their weary days

And die unsatisfied—and this is Fate!