 | Aonian Hours; And Other Poems |  |
To ******.
Hast thou not seen, when summer-eve is fading from the sky,
The sullen cloud which tells of storms and darkness that are nigh?
As spreads that cloud o'er heaven's blue face eclipsing earth and sea,
Such and so heavy is the pang which parts the soul from thee.
The sullen cloud which tells of storms and darkness that are nigh?
As spreads that cloud o'er heaven's blue face eclipsing earth and sea,
Such and so heavy is the pang which parts the soul from thee.
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I will not say how heaved my heart when first thy eyes met mine,
Though coldly did they gaze on me, there was rapture in their shrine,
Bright as the smile which left thy lips when we two saw no more
The varying aspect, kind or chill, which each to other wore.
Though coldly did they gaze on me, there was rapture in their shrine,
Bright as the smile which left thy lips when we two saw no more
The varying aspect, kind or chill, which each to other wore.
There is, despite ourselves, a Power, when youthful spirits meet
Gives bounding motion to the pulse, and makes their presence sweet;
Gives words to eyes, and light to smiles, which well they understand,
Music to voice, and bliss to each light pressure of the hand.
Gives bounding motion to the pulse, and makes their presence sweet;
Gives words to eyes, and light to smiles, which well they understand,
Music to voice, and bliss to each light pressure of the hand.
And though such two may meet no more permissioned and alone,
The sparkling ray, the inward thrill which knit their minds in one,
Still beams warm with remembered joy, as sunshine falls on shades,
Or the last crimson flush of day which widens as it fades.
The sparkling ray, the inward thrill which knit their minds in one,
Still beams warm with remembered joy, as sunshine falls on shades,
Or the last crimson flush of day which widens as it fades.
And Memory viewing in her cell an image kind and fair,
The friendly fugitive arrests, and stamps it freshly there;
Stamps it all glorious as it is, and glowing with delight,
A living beauty to the soul—an Eden to the sight.
The friendly fugitive arrests, and stamps it freshly there;
Stamps it all glorious as it is, and glowing with delight,
A living beauty to the soul—an Eden to the sight.
So dwells remembrance on thy worth, though thou thyself art fled,
And though a sterner bar than parts the living and the dead
Should rise to bar thee from my sight, in pleasure and in pain,
It lives—my pride or punishment, my blessing or my bane.
And though a sterner bar than parts the living and the dead
Should rise to bar thee from my sight, in pleasure and in pain,
It lives—my pride or punishment, my blessing or my bane.
141
And potent is the talisman which cancels from the mind
That deep impression of regret which beauty leaves behind,
And powerful must that sigil be, which where her seal is set,
Can bring a charm to eyes that weep, and hearts that tremble yet.
That deep impression of regret which beauty leaves behind,
And powerful must that sigil be, which where her seal is set,
Can bring a charm to eyes that weep, and hearts that tremble yet.
But fare thee well! the hour is fled—and I may think no more
On past delights with which my cup of joy was running o'er;
Enough! that once thy rosy smiles, thy figure I have seen,
Enough! that where thy presence is, my truant steps have been.
On past delights with which my cup of joy was running o'er;
Enough! that once thy rosy smiles, thy figure I have seen,
Enough! that where thy presence is, my truant steps have been.
Blest be thy lot in loneliness, or in the peopled scene,
Where heart meets heart in festal show, all smiling and serene;
Blest be thy lot!—may angel-shapes lead on thy circling hours,
And every pathway lead thee through a paradise of flowers!
Where heart meets heart in festal show, all smiling and serene;
Blest be thy lot!—may angel-shapes lead on thy circling hours,
And every pathway lead thee through a paradise of flowers!
I would not that one cloud should dim, one sorrow should impair
A spirit so serene as thine, a form so passing fair;
No! tearless be thine eyes for aye, or sparkle but to cast
Joy like the rainbow through the storm which tells of trials past.
A spirit so serene as thine, a form so passing fair;
No! tearless be thine eyes for aye, or sparkle but to cast
Joy like the rainbow through the storm which tells of trials past.
Farewell! but O thy mien—thy voice in Fancy's ear will come
Like music o'er the waves at night, or gale where roses bloom,
A summer-breath, divinely sweet, and exquisitely soft,
In breathless pleasure heard but once, but O! remembered oft!
Like music o'er the waves at night, or gale where roses bloom,
A summer-breath, divinely sweet, and exquisitely soft,
In breathless pleasure heard but once, but O! remembered oft!
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Farewell! when other hours are past—when other years have rolled,
If chance again that form I see, that beauty I behold,
'Twill be with far intenser bliss than it was pain to part,
'Twill be—but what I cannot tell; O, read it in my heart!
If chance again that form I see, that beauty I behold,
'Twill be with far intenser bliss than it was pain to part,
'Twill be—but what I cannot tell; O, read it in my heart!
| Aonian Hours; And Other Poems | |