 | The Outcast, and other poems |  |
139
TO KATE.
I met a lily in the vale,
Just opened to the morning gale;
'Twas pure as light, and snowy white,
And so I stopped to gaze.—
And “thou art beautiful,” I said—
That lily did not hide its head,
But freely forth its odors shed,
To pay me for my praise.
Just opened to the morning gale;
'Twas pure as light, and snowy white,
And so I stopped to gaze.—
And “thou art beautiful,” I said—
That lily did not hide its head,
But freely forth its odors shed,
To pay me for my praise.
Beside my path a wild rose grew,
All spangled o'er with diamond dew;
And oh, 'twas fair as things of air—
I could not pass it by,
Unheeded as a common flower—
And so I clapped it, and a shower
Of tribute pearls confessed my power,
And told me not to fly.
All spangled o'er with diamond dew;
And oh, 'twas fair as things of air—
I could not pass it by,
Unheeded as a common flower—
And so I clapped it, and a shower
Of tribute pearls confessed my power,
And told me not to fly.
I found upon the mountain height—
A virgin spring all pure and bright—
'Twas rippling clear, as beauty's tear—
All lonely in its leafy bower;—
I knelt its crystal lip to kiss;
And, oh, its sparkles told of bliss
Its sighing waters would not miss,
And bade me kiss once more!
A virgin spring all pure and bright—
140
All lonely in its leafy bower;—
I knelt its crystal lip to kiss;
And, oh, its sparkles told of bliss
Its sighing waters would not miss,
And bade me kiss once more!
But, Kate, there is a lovelier thing
Than lily, rose, or mountain spring—
I tell thee true—thou little shrew!
And yet it wakes my fears—
For when I praise, behold it frowns!
And when I clasp, away it bounds!
And when I kneel before it, zounds!
I feel a tingling in my ears!
Than lily, rose, or mountain spring—
I tell thee true—thou little shrew!
And yet it wakes my fears—
For when I praise, behold it frowns!
And when I clasp, away it bounds!
And when I kneel before it, zounds!
I feel a tingling in my ears!
| The Outcast, and other poems | |