Poems by Violet Fane [i.e. M. M. Lamb] :: :: University of Virginia Library

I came from lands of mist and rain,
And hurried, for one sleepless night,
Through landscapes clothed in wintry white,
And where the bare Burgundian vines,
Like antlers of a buried herd,
Pierced through their chilly counterpane.

Against the windows sleet and snow
Beat, as determin'd to the last
To bear me company: I pass'd
Bleak sandy tracks, where dwarfish pines
And stunted olives, tempest-stirr'd,
Swayed desolately to and fro.

“I journey on to warmth and light,”
I whisper'd to my falt'ring heart,
So lonely at the saddest part
Of this, my voyage to the sun,
Wrapp'd in the curtains of the night,

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And fearing what the dawn might hold,
Whilst still unto my aching brain
The measured clatter of the train
Echoed, in mocking monotone,
“To warmth and light,” whilst all was cold.

But by-and-by, by slow degrees,
Chill Nature thaw'd to greet the dawn;
The clinging frost and snow were gone,
The sky beam'd blue behind the hills,
The birds were singing on the trees.

The sun rose gaily, all the earth
Seemed warm again with love and Spring,
The olive leaves sway'd glistening
With silv'ry lustre, and the rills
Leapt, frost-freed, to a brighter birth.

A thousand scented southern balms
The zephyr wafted to my brow,
The orange hung upon the bough,
The almond flower'd fair beneath
The tufted majesty of palms.

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The wavelets of a tideless sea
Crept softly to the rosy shore,—
The overhanging mountains bore
Myrtle and mignonette and heath,
And fragrant tangled bryony.

The aloe raised its pointed spears,
The red geranium blossom'd wild,
Anemones and violets smiled,
The faint mimosa droop'd; above
The rocks were fringed with prickly pears.

'Twas then I felt my soul revive;
The winter chill'd my heart no more;
I look'd upon that sunny shore,
And said, “I come to life and love,—
I come to thee to love and live.”