i wish i could remember that first day

i wish i could remember that first day,

first hour, first moment of your meeting me,

if bright or dim the season, it might be,

summer or winter for aught i can say,

so unrecorded did it slip away,

so blind i was to see and to foresee,

so dull to mark the budding of my tree,

that would not blossom yet for many a may,

if only i could recollect it, such

a day of days ! i let it come and go,

as traceless as a thaw of bygone snow,

it seemed to mean a little, meant so much,

if only now i could recall that touch,

first touch of hand in hand - did one but know !