 | English Roses |  |
CHRISTABEL.
Happy maiden,
Of the dear and dewy eyes,
Coyly veiled, and sweetly swimming
Like a chalice over-brimming
With its sacred mysteries;
Lit and laden,
Out of the infinities.
If I could but read the pages
Of your looks
As holy books,
I should nearly know as well
But would never, never tell
All the secret of the ages,
Christabel.
Of the dear and dewy eyes,
Coyly veiled, and sweetly swimming
Like a chalice over-brimming
With its sacred mysteries;
Lit and laden,
Out of the infinities.
If I could but read the pages
Of your looks
As holy books,
I should nearly know as well
But would never, never tell
All the secret of the ages,
Christabel.
88
Maiden, clothèd
In the beautiful defence
Of a pure and righteous being
And a sense beyond mere seeing,
High above our false pretence,
And betrothèd
To the Truth and Innocence;
When I gaze at you in wonder,
Many a bar
Or bound afar,
Blue abysses, burst asunder;
And I see wherein you dwell
With a peace ineffable,
And our little world thereunder,
Christabel.
In the beautiful defence
Of a pure and righteous being
And a sense beyond mere seeing,
High above our false pretence,
And betrothèd
To the Truth and Innocence;
When I gaze at you in wonder,
Many a bar
Or bound afar,
Blue abysses, burst asunder;
And I see wherein you dwell
With a peace ineffable,
And our little world thereunder,
Christabel.
Maiden, living
Not in gloom or squalid street,
In a love of larger spaces
And a bliss of golden graces,
With our toys below your feet;
In your giving,
All delights and marvels meet.
You direct my road and often,
When I stray
Or lose the way,
Bring me by a spirit spell
Back from even the fires of hell,
Till my hardest hatred soften,
Christabel.
Not in gloom or squalid street,
In a love of larger spaces
And a bliss of golden graces,
With our toys below your feet;
In your giving,
All delights and marvels meet.
You direct my road and often,
When I stray
Or lose the way,
Bring me by a spirit spell
Back from even the fires of hell,
Till my hardest hatred soften,
Christabel.
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