 | A Wreath of Wild Flowers From New England |  |
257
MATILDE'S PICTURE.
Beautiful! beautiful!
Passion is stilled,
Meeting thy blessed eyes,
Happy Matilde!
Passion is stilled,
Meeting thy blessed eyes,
Happy Matilde!
All who behold thee—
The weary, the sad—
Yield to thy loveliness,
Loving and glad.
The weary, the sad—
Yield to thy loveliness,
Loving and glad.
Joy, like the zephyr
That flies o'er the flower,
Rippling it into
Fresh fairness each hour,—
That flies o'er the flower,
Rippling it into
Fresh fairness each hour,—
Waves o'er thy beauty
His sun-woven wing,
And dimples thy cheek
Like the roses of Spring.
His sun-woven wing,
And dimples thy cheek
Like the roses of Spring.
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It is not the rapture,
The fitful and wild,
That dies in a moment,
Thou shadowless child.
The fitful and wild,
That dies in a moment,
Thou shadowless child.
Over thy spirit,
Over thy brow,
Still will those pinions wave
Ever as now.
Over thy brow,
Still will those pinions wave
Ever as now.
Within thee—around—
Shedding influence bright,—
An atmosphere, fairest,
Of sunny delight.
Shedding influence bright,—
An atmosphere, fairest,
Of sunny delight.
Unclouded by Sin,
And by Sorrow unchilled,
It was born with thy being,
My merry Matilde!
And by Sorrow unchilled,
It was born with thy being,
My merry Matilde!
Soft as a wreathing cloud,
Free as the air,
Falls from thy forehead
Thy beautiful hair.
Free as the air,
Falls from thy forehead
Thy beautiful hair.
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And Thought, like the glory
Through morning-mist seen,
Shines through that forehead
A spirit serene.
Through morning-mist seen,
Shines through that forehead
A spirit serene.
They tell me, blest cherub,
That tears never rise,—
Never dim for a moment
Thy melting, dark eyes!
That tears never rise,—
Never dim for a moment
Thy melting, dark eyes!
That the spirit of Joy,
When those orbs were revealed,
Flew there with a smile,
And the tear-fountain sealed.
When those orbs were revealed,
Flew there with a smile,
And the tear-fountain sealed.
But it seems to me, sweet,
That a tear and a smile,
Are struggling for ever
Within them the while.
That a tear and a smile,
Are struggling for ever
Within them the while.
And brightly they tremble,
And tenderly too,
As blend on the blossom
The starlight and dew.
And tenderly too,
As blend on the blossom
The starlight and dew.
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Ah! Love knew the radiance
Joy kept revealing,
Would die, unless bathed
In the fountain of Feeling!
Joy kept revealing,
Would die, unless bathed
In the fountain of Feeling!
And the flashing ray floated
More soft than before,
When he broke the light seal,
And the warm tears ran o'er.
More soft than before,
When he broke the light seal,
And the warm tears ran o'er.
But they love their bright home,
And they never dare flow,
Lest they fall in the dimples
That frolic below.
And they never dare flow,
Lest they fall in the dimples
That frolic below.
Ah! always as now
May that tender light gild
Thy tears as they tremble,
My tender Matilde!
May that tender light gild
Thy tears as they tremble,
My tender Matilde!
| A Wreath of Wild Flowers From New England | |