The Poetical Works of George Barlow In Ten [Eleven] Volumes |
 | I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
 | IX. |
THOU AND I
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| X. |
| XI. |
 | The Poetical Works of George Barlow |  |
28
THOU AND I
Oh, this I say of thee, that thy sweet face,
When passion else were undisputed king,
Reminds me ever of a fairer thing
Than passion,—even love, whose gentle grace
Fills as with shine of flowers each barren place
And makes the birdless sunless mountains sing.
When passion else were undisputed king,
Reminds me ever of a fairer thing
Than passion,—even love, whose gentle grace
Fills as with shine of flowers each barren place
And makes the birdless sunless mountains sing.
Thou bringest back to me, O love divine,
O gentle girl-heart full of God indeed,
Hope, and a tenderer higher nobler creed.
Thou makest this despairing soul of mine
Just for one moment bright-hued even as thine:
Thou hast the power to lift and power to lead.
O gentle girl-heart full of God indeed,
Hope, and a tenderer higher nobler creed.
Thou makest this despairing soul of mine
Just for one moment bright-hued even as thine:
Thou hast the power to lift and power to lead.
Just for one moment, while I meet thine eyes,
I pass from out the temple of despair
And cease to breathe the Dantesque gloomy air,
And the dim light of purgatorial skies
Brightens. I feel that death's malign mouth lies
And that sweet life lasts ever, and ever is fair.
I pass from out the temple of despair
And cease to breathe the Dantesque gloomy air,
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Brightens. I feel that death's malign mouth lies
And that sweet life lasts ever, and ever is fair.
And then, thee leaving, back again I pass,
Again, God help me! to my proper tomb,
Ringed all about with sable starless gloom
And blue-green patches of disastrous grass:
Thee leaving, I become myself alas!
I am despair. Thou art a lily in bloom.
Again, God help me! to my proper tomb,
Ringed all about with sable starless gloom
And blue-green patches of disastrous grass:
Thee leaving, I become myself alas!
I am despair. Thou art a lily in bloom.
1885.
| The Poetical Works of George Barlow | |