University of Virginia Library

Search this document 
[Poems by Fairfield in] The autobiography of Jane Fairfield

embracing a few select poems
Fairfield, Sumner Lincoln (1803-1844)

collapse section 
[section]
collapse section 
THE SISTERS OF SAINT CLARA.
collapse section1. 
CANTO I.
 1. 
I.
 2. 
II.
 3. 
III.
 4. 
IV.
 5. 
V.
 6. 
VI.
 7. 
VII.
 8. 
VIII.
 9. 
IX.
 10. 
X.
 11. 
XI.
 12. 
XII.
 13. 
XIII.
 14. 
XIV.
 15. 
XV.
 16. 
XVI.
 17. 
XVII.
 18. 
XVIII.
 19. 
XIX.
collapse section2. 
CANTO II.
 1. 
I.
 2. 
II.
 3. 
III.
 4. 
IV.
 5. 
V.
 6. 
VI.
 7. 
VII.
 8. 
VIII.
 9. 
IX.
 10. 
X.
 11. 
XI.
 12. 
XII.
 13. 
XIII.
 14. 
XIV.
  
THE DEATH SCENE.

collapse section Collapse All | Expand All expand section
previous section [Poems by Fairfield in] The autobiography of Jane Fairfield
next section
276

XI.

'Tis joy to gaze, from the tall ships lee,
On the curling waves of the moonlight sea,
When the mellow airs of spring-time night
Come over the heart as it floats in light,
And the sleeping flowers exhale perfume,
Like a virgin's breath from lips of bloom,
And the dark-blue waters curl and gleam
In the diamond star-light's mirrored beam,
While the spirit burns o'er the glittering sea
'Till it longs a moonlight wave to be.
Oh, spirits that sail on the moonlight sea
Should have thoughts as vast as eternity,
And feelings as pure as the sleeping rose,
When its leaves in the dew of the sunset close.
previous section [Poems by Fairfield in] The autobiography of Jane Fairfield
next section