University of Virginia Library

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I stood beside thy home
When night and solitude spread silence round,
And listen'd, if perchance mine ear might catch
One whisper of thy voice. The quiet stars
Look'd down upon my vigil, and the wind,
Weary with wandering, lull'd itself to rest
Amidst the clustering foliage of the elms
That droop'd above my head. I listen'd there
While gaily through thy open lattice poured
A strain of music, an exulting strain,
That like a bird's wild warbling, seem'd to wake
The laughing echoes with its joyous tones,
Thy hand, methought, over the ivory keys
Was gliding then, and with its syren touch,
Unsealing from their hidden founts within,
Those waves of ecstasy, but soon it ceased,
And all again was hush'd, till, soft and low,
Scarce audible, and yet most exquisite,
Another sound arose.—Oh! tell me not
Of human art's surpassing harmonies,
Of the lute's murmur, of the cittern's swell—
Talk not of harp-notes floating from afar,
Or the wild breathings of Eolian lyres,
Swept by the winds alone,—there is no sound
In music's empire,—nor the hum of leaves,
Nor ocean, rippling o'er its golden sands,
Nor fountain's silvery chime—no single sound,
So fraught with power, so richly eloquent,
So fill'd with touching sweetness, as the voice
Of one beloved—and 'twas that voice I heard!
Oh! pardon me, if while thine accents wove
Their witchery round me, from the world of dreams,
That mocking world, I call'd bright visions up,
Visions of joy, and hope, and happiness,
Baseless, and yet most beautiful, for thou
In all wert present, and o'er all supreme!
I will not cloud thy gentle brow with frowns,
By striving to recall those phantasies;
Brief was their date, they faded with the spell
That charm'd them into being—suddenly,
Thy sweet voice died away, and I awoke
From their delusive splendour to a sense
Of utter solitude, made yet more sad
By that one moment's gladness!