 | The Garden of Florence; and Other Poems |  |
155
INTRODUCTORY STANZAS.
TO AZILE.
1
Now, Azile! make this pleasant bank thy seat,A gentle tree o'ercanopies thy head;
And the evening airs, so soft and passing sweet,
Are odorous voices from the rose's bed:
The azure water, gliding at thy feet
In silence, seemeth to be fairy-led;
And all around, above thee, like thy breast,
Azile! is beautiful and full of rest.
2
How tenderly the loved Evening treadsWith pearl-white feet the pathless quiet sky!
156
As though a blessing and a boon from high!
Thy love, my Azile! on my heart now sheds
A gentler balm; and in thy dark, dark eye,
Reposeth a serener, dearer light,—
Like the moon's lustre softening the deep night.
3
Azile! I will beguile this gentle hourBy telling thee a Provence tale, which thou
May'st deem as tender as the Provence flower;
And it perchance may sadden thy sweet brow:—
'Tis from that old Italian, who did shower
His hundred tales upon the heart:—and now
Listen, while I in thy fair ear rehearse
The story, tamed into Northern verse.
| The Garden of Florence; and Other Poems | |