University of Virginia Library


41

The Haunted Lady.

You know not, lady, how often
A stranger follows your trace,
Or lies in wait for your coming
To win a sight of your face.
He wanders mute as a phantom
That haunts the populous street,
Yet may not murmur its burden
To those it chances to meet.
He longs, like the ghost, to utter
A sigh, a yearning, a word;
But spells forbid, and the secret
Is spoken in heart, unheard.
The message is naught but kindness,
A prayer that your life may be
As fair and pure as the beauty
He walks so often to see.