 | Hours at Naples, and Other Poems |  |
247
FAITHFUL LOVE.
Were I borne to some purple and flowering Strand,
Where fair Nature appears in her sweet unworn prime,
Where the Beautiful blends with the glorious and grand,
Where bright is the scenery and lovely the clime;
Where fair Nature appears in her sweet unworn prime,
Where the Beautiful blends with the glorious and grand,
Where bright is the scenery and lovely the clime;
Where cloudless and fervid shine still the clear skies,
Where the beams of the sun seem more golden and bright,
Aye! where Nature's rich draperies have yet lovelier dyes,
And all is Enchantment, and Glory, and Light!
Where the beams of the sun seem more golden and bright,
Aye! where Nature's rich draperies have yet lovelier dyes,
And all is Enchantment, and Glory, and Light!
Oh! were I now borne to so lovely a land,
Would the haunts of my infancy e'er be forgot?
Oh! dull were the fair clime, and bleak the bright strand,
Compared with one favourite and long cherished spot.
Would the haunts of my infancy e'er be forgot?
Oh! dull were the fair clime, and bleak the bright strand,
Compared with one favourite and long cherished spot.
248
And canst thou e'er think, my Love!—canst thou e'er think
That a tie yet more sacred could ever be torn?
That rent could the bond be, and shattered the link
Which so long and so fondly my true Heart hath worn.
That a tie yet more sacred could ever be torn?
That rent could the bond be, and shattered the link
Which so long and so fondly my true Heart hath worn.
Though the Brightest of Beings enchanted my sight,
And the Fairest of Faces 'twas mine to behold—
Like Natives of Paradise—Visions of Light—
Brightly cast in a pure and an exquisite mould.
And the Fairest of Faces 'twas mine to behold—
Like Natives of Paradise—Visions of Light—
Brightly cast in a pure and an exquisite mould.
Though all Graces that charm—and all Beauty that warms
To attract and to enthrall me, were radiantly met
From the fairest of Faces—the finest of Forms,
Would I turn to the Loved One I ne'er can forget.
To attract and to enthrall me, were radiantly met
From the fairest of Faces—the finest of Forms,
Would I turn to the Loved One I ne'er can forget.
Still! though others may charm for one moment the gaze,
Yet, oh! yet—though like all we deem Angels above—
Dim the cheek's roseate tint—dull the eye's sunny blaze,
With the Memory compared of the features we love!
Yet, oh! yet—though like all we deem Angels above—
Dim the cheek's roseate tint—dull the eye's sunny blaze,
With the Memory compared of the features we love!
249
Then fear not, Beloved One!—oh! no, never fear
That the bright charms of others can win me from thee;
I may smile back their smiles, but each thought, sigh, and tear,
All for thee—ever thine—must unchangeably be!
That the bright charms of others can win me from thee;
I may smile back their smiles, but each thought, sigh, and tear,
All for thee—ever thine—must unchangeably be!
| Hours at Naples, and Other Poems | |