noon
Step by step , his Sorrow has become his friend , and at the last , when the old feet are weary and the steep road has grown still more steep , the Grey Angel comes once more . Past the mist of tears in which he once was shrouded , the face of the Grey Angel is seen to be wondrously kind . By his mysterious alchemy , he has crystallised the doubtful waters , which once were in the cup of Life and Love , into a jewel which has no flaw . He has kept the child forever a child , caught the maiden at the noon of her beauty to enshrine her thus for always in the heart that loved her most ; made the true and loving comrade a comrade always , though on the highways of the vast Unknown . It is seen now that the road has many windings and that , unconsciously , the wayfarer has turned back . Eagerly the trembling hands reach forward to take the white poppies , and the tired eyes close as though the silken petals had already fluttered downward on the lids , for , radiant past all believing , the Grey Angel still holds the Best Beloved by the hand , and the roads that long ago had forked in darkness , have come together , in more than mortal dawn , at the selfsame place . Upon the beauty of the crystalline March morning , the memory of the Winter sorrow still lay .