 | The White Pilgrim and Other Poems |  |
97
LA VIOLETTA.
Thou art my loadstar and my queen; to thee
The current of my heart sets ebblessly,
Tho' all unheeded the poor offering be.
The current of my heart sets ebblessly,
Tho' all unheeded the poor offering be.
The soft twin-lamps that from thy fair face shine,
Lit with a tenderness that's only thine,
Burn ever at my fancy's inmost shrine.
Lit with a tenderness that's only thine,
Burn ever at my fancy's inmost shrine.
If I might choose my fate, I would entreat
To be a carpet for thy dainty feet,
When I return to that I came from, sweet;
To be a carpet for thy dainty feet,
When I return to that I came from, sweet;
Or to be native to the southern sky,
Which for thy head makes fitting canopy—
A waif upon thy path to live and die.
Which for thy head makes fitting canopy—
A waif upon thy path to live and die.
Now I but ask, for all memorial,
That from thine eyes upon my grave may fall
One crystal drop, to grace my funeral.
That from thine eyes upon my grave may fall
One crystal drop, to grace my funeral.
And on the tomb, ere yet that dew be dried,
Thus let my life's brief tale be signified—
“He only prayed for her, and stood aside.”
Thus let my life's brief tale be signified—
“He only prayed for her, and stood aside.”
Venice, 1870.
| The White Pilgrim and Other Poems | |