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 | The collected poems of William Ellery Channing the younger, 1817-1901 |  |
VII
It came upon me in a sudden thrill,It stood before me—'t was a thing of life.
The thoughts rushed out; I had not form nor will;
I was in hurrying trance, yet felt no strife.
957
I looked abroad—the sunlight seemed to smile.
Joy, joy! was now the song,
Like a torrent crowding strong
To the endless Sea along.
She stood before me in that veil of form
(The stars' first light, dropt from an urn of air);
Within her eyes there melted sunlight warm,
Which its soft heat did with the moonbeam share;
The gushing of her smile was like a stream
Which, when all round was crisped with feathery snow,
Went surging through the drear its liquid dream,
In sweet dissolvèd style, as angels know.
The spell that dwelt within each faintest word
Was Love—the first my eager ear had heard.
She stood before me, and her life sank through
My withering heart as doth the piercing dew,
That sinks with quivering tenderness within
The moss-rose breast—till it to ope doth win.
| The collected poems of William Ellery Channing the younger, 1817-1901 | |