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 | 'Twixt Kiss and Lip or Under the Sword. By the author of "Women Must Weep," [i.e. F. W. O. Ward] Third edition |  |
42
PARTING.
I left her to the vulgar throng,
And in the staring day,
With waving hand, and whirled along
The cruel iron way;
But though her angel face is gone
From this poor outward sight,
A glory rests where once it shone,
That never can take flight;
Ah, if no more that beauty zoned
My hungry heart may thrill,
Deep in its bridal chamber throned
She is my Sovereign still.
And in the staring day,
With waving hand, and whirled along
The cruel iron way;
But though her angel face is gone
From this poor outward sight,
A glory rests where once it shone,
That never can take flight;
Ah, if no more that beauty zoned
My hungry heart may thrill,
Deep in its bridal chamber throned
She is my Sovereign still.
I see her now against the sky,
As swaying oft she stood—
A morning radiance in her eye,
The pride of maidenhood;
The subtle movements of the form,
Reflecting every change,
Now struck as by some passing storm,
Now stirred to music strange;
The crimson lips, the crownéd hair,
The white and wondrous hand,
With all that makes a woman fair,
And beautiful a land.
As swaying oft she stood—
A morning radiance in her eye,
The pride of maidenhood;
The subtle movements of the form,
Reflecting every change,
Now struck as by some passing storm,
Now stirred to music strange;
The crimson lips, the crownéd hair,
The white and wondrous hand,
With all that makes a woman fair,
And beautiful a land.
Thou, sunbeam, flashing out of space,
To lighten many a load,
Shed lilies on my darling's face,
And roses on her road;
Thou, wind, now rippling on the sea,
And rustling through the grass,
Take sweetest waft of wave and lea
In perfume, ere she pass;
And tell her how I always miss
Her presence, if I err
To others, and O breathe this kiss
That faithful is to her.
To lighten many a load,
Shed lilies on my darling's face,
And roses on her road;
Thou, wind, now rippling on the sea,
And rustling through the grass,
Take sweetest waft of wave and lea
In perfume, ere she pass;
And tell her how I always miss
Her presence, if I err
To others, and O breathe this kiss
That faithful is to her.
Ah, everywhere some vestige lies,
A riband or a glove,
Just common things but sacred ties,
Which daily strengthen love;
While time, that friendship lulls to sleep,
And death with murderous knife,
Shall only render mine more deep,
And wake to larger life;
Divided yet we have one will,
No earthly bounds may part,
And we will walk united still
For ever, heart with heart.
A riband or a glove,
Just common things but sacred ties,
Which daily strengthen love;
While time, that friendship lulls to sleep,
And death with murderous knife,
Shall only render mine more deep,
And wake to larger life;
Divided yet we have one will,
No earthly bounds may part,
And we will walk united still
For ever, heart with heart.
| 'Twixt Kiss and Lip or Under the Sword. By the author of "Women Must Weep," [i.e. F. W. O. Ward] Third edition | |