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 | The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere |  |
281
XXVIII. THE MILANESE SCHOOL.
What memory of a being ere his birthPossessed Luini with the idea strange
Of that Sibylline beauty? Hall or grange,
Palace or Hut, whate'er we know on earth,
Holds nothing like it. Sadness here and mirth
So blend, or so into each other range,
We deem them ancient foemen that exchange
Love-vows, and sit henceforth beside one hearth.
Those half-closed eyes with mournful penetration
Look on through all things; yet a furtive smile
Brightens her thin, smooth, shadowy face the while:—
Methinks that subtle-visaged creature hears
The narrowing thread of Life in soft gyration
Drawn out; or closing of the Parcæ's shears!
| The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere | |