 | Lays of Leisure Hours |  |
348
STANZAS.
FROM A MANUSCRIPT POEM.
To thee I give my Soul—my very Soul
Crown my Devotion's hope with one sweet thought,
One thought of thine shall still seem worth the whole
Of my deep dreamy Being—passion-fraught!
Crown my Devotion's hope with one sweet thought,
One thought of thine shall still seem worth the whole
Of my deep dreamy Being—passion-fraught!
One thought of thine shall still appear to me
More precious than my Soul's existence all,
Is it in vain that I but live to be
The willing slave of such a Passion's thrall?
More precious than my Soul's existence all,
Is it in vain that I but live to be
The willing slave of such a Passion's thrall?
It cannot be—ne'er—ne'er hath fallen to waste
So deep a love and so devoted yet,
Howe'er it be on this vile Earth misplaced,
By selfish passions and dark wrongs beset.
So deep a love and so devoted yet,
Howe'er it be on this vile Earth misplaced,
By selfish passions and dark wrongs beset.
349
It must pursue its path, proclaim its power,
Its Fortunes finish, and fulfil its Fate,
It must, it will have its victorious hour,
Though dark its Destiny, and brief its date.
Its Fortunes finish, and fulfil its Fate,
It must, it will have its victorious hour,
Though dark its Destiny, and brief its date.
It must, it will its living might exert,
And win some answer to its ardent prayer,
It must—it will—its influence deep assert
Nor melt, a moment's meteor, lost in air!
And win some answer to its ardent prayer,
It must—it will—its influence deep assert
Nor melt, a moment's meteor, lost in air!
If it may nought atchieve besides, at least
It may to thee thy fatal power reveal,
And if for me no sigh may heave thy breast,
For others thou mayst still be taught to feel!
It may to thee thy fatal power reveal,
And if for me no sigh may heave thy breast,
For others thou mayst still be taught to feel!
It may unfold to thee what Love can be,
How beautiful, how mighty, and how true—
Make thee in love with Love, though not with me,
And tempt thy heart the Heav'n-born guest to woo!
How beautiful, how mighty, and how true—
Make thee in love with Love, though not with me,
And tempt thy heart the Heav'n-born guest to woo!
350
It may disclose to thee, Oh! loveliest one,
How others' happiness of heart and mind
May hang thy will, thy thoughtless will upon,
And teach thee to be merciful and kind!
How others' happiness of heart and mind
May hang thy will, thy thoughtless will upon,
And teach thee to be merciful and kind!
Then shall it not be wasted all in sooth,
But I—alas! Beloved One! look on me—
Must the poor heart that glows with this deep truth,
Be wasted—crushed with loneliest misery?
But I—alas! Beloved One! look on me—
Must the poor heart that glows with this deep truth,
Be wasted—crushed with loneliest misery?
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