A stranger  came to the door at eve,
And he spoke the bridegroom fair.
He bore  a green-white stick in his hand,
And, for all burden,  care.
He  asked with the  eyes  more than the lips
For a shelter  for the night,
And he  turned and looked  at the road afar
Without a window light.
The bridegroom  came  forth into the porch
With, "Let us  look at the sky,
And question what of the night to be,
Stranger, you  and I.
"The  woodbine leaves littered the yard,
The woodbine berries were blue,
Autumn, yes, winter was in the wind;
"Stranger, I wish I  knew."
Within, the  bride in the dusk alone 
Bent  over the  open fire,
Her face rose-red with the  glowing  coal
And the  thought  of the heart's  desire.
The bridegroom looked at the  weary road,
Yet  saw but  her within,
And  wished her heart in a  case of gold
And pinned  with a silver pin.
The  bridegroom thought it  little to give
A dole  of bread, a purse,
A heartfelt prayer  for the  poor of God,
Or for the rich a curse;
But whether or  not a man was asked
To mar the love  of two
by harboring  woe in  the  bridal house,
The  bridegroom wished he  knew.