 | 'Twixt Kiss and Lip or Under the Sword. By the author of "Women Must Weep," [i.e. F. W. O. Ward] Third edition |  |
47
BEAUTIFUL MAIDEN.
Beautiful maiden, wonderful, fair
Not with the gifts that fleet,
Graces for ever sweet,
Voice that is soft as the evening air,
Queen by the right of thy crownéd hair,
Thee I with reverence greet;
Beauty of builded street
Bright with its storied front, and stair
Stately that steps to a monarch's chair,
Crimson of banner sheet,
Stars in a summer night that pair,
All in thy beauty meet.
Not with the gifts that fleet,
Graces for ever sweet,
Voice that is soft as the evening air,
Queen by the right of thy crownéd hair,
Thee I with reverence greet;
Beauty of builded street
Bright with its storied front, and stair
Stately that steps to a monarch's chair,
Crimson of banner sheet,
Stars in a summer night that pair,
All in thy beauty meet.
Delicate maiden, dainty and pure,
Throned above common things,
Venom that stabs and stings,
Rich with the kindness that is cure
Ready for broken heart, and sure
Royalty not of kings;
Heaven about thee clings,
Strong to unmask the damnéd lure
Hid in the virtuous veil demure—
Heaven within thee sings;
What, that is evil, may endure
Waft of thy angel wings?
Throned above common things,
Venom that stabs and stings,
Rich with the kindness that is cure
Ready for broken heart, and sure
Royalty not of kings;
Heaven about thee clings,
Strong to unmask the damnéd lure
Hid in the virtuous veil demure—
Heaven within thee sings;
What, that is evil, may endure
Waft of thy angel wings?
Exquisite maiden, cunningly wrought,
Not by a mortal hand,
Not for the petty band
Binding the slaves of petty thought,
Daily in market sold and bought,
Meant for a larger land;
Meet for some lofty strand,
Stretching away from battles fought
Here for a vulgar prize, but brought
Down to our sinking sand;
Sphered with an honour all unsought,
Stooping but to command.
Not by a mortal hand,
Not for the petty band
Binding the slaves of petty thought,
Daily in market sold and bought,
Meant for a larger land;
Meet for some lofty strand,
Stretching away from battles fought
Here for a vulgar prize, but brought
Down to our sinking sand;
Sphered with an honour all unsought,
Stooping but to command.
Glorious maiden, steadfast, and still
Walking thy own sweet way,
Lit from the endless day,
Shining beyond the shadowy ill
Heaped as the thunder on the hill,
Hanging with sword to slay;
Nothing thy step can stay,
Nothing withstand thy words that thrill,
Throb, through the burning breasts they fill
Ever with hopes that pray;
Humble I bend to thy holy will,
Proud to accept thy sway.
Walking thy own sweet way,
Lit from the endless day,
Shining beyond the shadowy ill
Heaped as the thunder on the hill,
Hanging with sword to slay;
Nothing thy step can stay,
Nothing withstand thy words that thrill,
Throb, through the burning breasts they fill
Ever with hopes that pray;
Humble I bend to thy holy will,
Proud to accept thy sway.
| 'Twixt Kiss and Lip or Under the Sword. By the author of "Women Must Weep," [i.e. F. W. O. Ward] Third edition | |