When I was vexed with care and strain, My solace was your tenderness. For every sorrow, every pain, Your love was there, to heal and bless.
When years of thankless toil slipped past, I found my guerdon in your eyes; And when life’s laurels came at last, Your tears of gladness were my prize.
Two short stanzas, and one steady feeling: thankfulness. The speaker looks back over a life and credits one person, addressed simply as "you," with getting them through it. In the first stanza, that person is a comfort when worry and strain press down. Whatever the sorrow or pain, their love is there "to heal and bless."
The second stanza moves from hard times to good ones. "Guerdon" is an old word for a reward, so the years of "thankless toil" are repaid not by recognition from the world but by what the speaker sees in this person's eyes. Even when success finally arrives, the "laurels," the real prize is the other person's happy tears.
The mood is warm, calm, and sincere. The regular rhymes and gentle rhythm give it the feel of a heartfelt tribute, quiet and affectionate rather than dramatic. It says that love matters in both struggle and triumph.