Poems by Frances Sargent Osgood

I slept, and dreaming wander'd in
The hall of an enchanted palace,
And from some viewless hand I took
An emerald-lighted chalice.
I quaff'd from it the liquid light,
And instant to my charméd view,
Above, around me, everywhere
A thousand radiant fairies flew.
High in the centre of the dome,
A single, lustrous diamond burn'd,
That to and fro swung beaming there,
And shed soft beauty through the air
And all it touch'd to glory turn'd;
Proud carvéd columns rose around,
Of marble pure and white,
Engarlanded with costly gems
That fill'd the hall with colour'd light;
And fair as flowers the beings were
That floated here and there;

Deep eyes, whose looks were words of love—
And tones like music in a dream—
And fair soft hair, that loosely fell
With a pale, golden moonlight gleam;
And one, more lovely than the rest
Because more kind, beside me stole,
And murmur'd, “Be the wish confess'd
That dearest seems unto thy soul;
And dwelleth what thou dost desire,
In earth or water, air or fire,
It shall be thine—the fairy-fate
Doth on thy instant bidding wait.”
Then lowly from the luminous throng,
Arose a wild, sweet, choral song:—

Now speak but one wish, mortal, breathe but one prayer;
We will bring thee the treasures of earth and of air;—
Lo! see'st thou where night looketh down on you lake?
She braids in that mirror her dark-flowing hair,
With the star-gems of heaven; her purest we'll take,
If that be the aim of thy wish and thy prayer.
Oh! sigh but one hope—but one moment's desire;—
We will bring thee the glories of ocean and fire.

We know where the diamonds of loveliest glow
Lie hid in the earth's rocky bosom below;
We will light thee with one, where the rainbow has play'd,
And the wings of the lightning a moment have stay'd,

Till they left in its heart half the glory they bore,
And it burn'd with a beauty it knew not before.
Oh, speak but one wish, mortal—breathe but one prayer!
We will bring thee the treasures of earth and of air,
Oh, sigh but one hope, but one moment's desire;
We will show thee the wonders of wave and of fire.

Far down where the coral halls gleam in the waters,
In the light of their beauty, roam Ocean's glad daughters;
We will dive for the pearls and the sea-flowers rare,
That they wind through the curls of their amber-hued hair.
Dost thou covet the violet clouds and vermilion
That float round the setting sun's golden pavilion?
We will weave them for thee round a chariot of fire,
That shall fly with the speed of thy wildest desire!
Oh, breathe but one wish—mortal, speak but one prayer!
We will bring thee the treasures of earth and of air;
Fair pearls from the sea-deeps—pure gold from the mine;
The star and the rose-cloud, all, all shall be thine;
Oh, if higher thy hope be—fame, riches, and power,
The jewel of genius or beauty's soft flower,—
One word of our magic, one touch of our wand,
They are thine—they are thine—at thy will and command.

“Ah, no! not the sea-flower or gem of the mine,
Nor the diamond that Night in her tresses doth twine,
Nor the splendours that light up at sunset the sky,
Nor the wealth of a world, can awaken my sigh;

Not for these, not for them, does my lone spirit pine:
Oh, give me a heart that will answer to mine!
Offer power and fame to the proud and the cold:—
What are they to a woman—and what is your gold?
The jewel of genius a treasure may be;
But idle its glory to love and to me:
And beauty unloved will but wither and pine!—
Oh, give me a heart that can answer to mine!”

“Nay, mortal, thou askest a treasure more rare
Than the jewels of earth or the stars of the air.
There breathes but one Being that gift can bestow,
And seldom the blessing is met with below:
No seeking will find it;—keep pure in its pride
Thine own lonely heart, and in patience abide,
And if here be denied thee that rapture so rare,
Look trusting to heaven—it waits for thee there.”

University of Virginia Library

A DREAM.