Salome! Had you been with me in the boat
You would not chide and moan because our boys
Have gone with the Beloved from this our home.
Let me, Salome, tell you how it came.
The night was still—the tide was running strong,
Heavy our nets—the strain reached breaking point,
And while 'twas dark we docked, and as we worked
I felt as though new strength and steady joy
Surged through my being, so I sang a psalm—
As David sang—a song to greet the morn;
And thus my heart was filled with quiet calm.
The boat was soon in order, and we turned
To dry and mend the nets. Then Jesus came—
He called the boys, first John, then James, by name,
And they arose, and went to follow him.
I turned and gazed on Jesus standing there—
He seemed to me all clothed in shining light
As he stood in the pathway, with the night
Behind him and the dawn breaking around,
His form so radiant and glad and free.
And when he climbed the hill our sons went too—
James was behind, but John was by his side;
And as they talked, John scarcely seemed our John—
I felt that he had caught that marvelous light.
And all my being seemed to overflow:
I knew the night was passed—the dawn had come—
And then I knew that we must let them go.
