Lyrics of the heart With other poems. By Alaric A. Watts. With forty-one engravings on steel |
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LINES WRITTEN BENEATH A PORTRAIT. |
 | Lyrics of the heart |  |
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LINES WRITTEN BENEATH A PORTRAIT.
BY A. E. CHALON, R.A.
Time cannot thin thy flowing hair,
Nor take one ray of light from thee;
For in my fancy thou dost share
The gift of immortality!
WORDSWORTH.
Nor take one ray of light from thee;
For in my fancy thou dost share
The gift of immortality!
WORDSWORTH.
Thou wert fair when first we met,
As a youthful poet's dream;
Thou art lovely still, and yet,
Where, O where's the vernal gleam
That around thy footsteps hung,
When our hearts and hopes were young!
As a youthful poet's dream;
Thou art lovely still, and yet,
Where, O where's the vernal gleam
That around thy footsteps hung,
When our hearts and hopes were young!
Thou wert joyous as the bird,
When its first wild flight it tries;
And thy softliest whispered word
Breathed the mirth of summer skies:
Thou art silent now when glad;
Serious ever—sometimes sad.
When its first wild flight it tries;
And thy softliest whispered word
Breathed the mirth of summer skies:
Thou art silent now when glad;
Serious ever—sometimes sad.
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Thou didst love in other years,
Songs of light and joyous flow;
But the strains that stir thy tears,
Are thy cherished pastime now;
Thou hast learned to gather gladness
From the very depths of sadness.
Songs of light and joyous flow;
But the strains that stir thy tears,
Are thy cherished pastime now;
Thou hast learned to gather gladness
From the very depths of sadness.
Yes, thy blue eye's changing light,
Shed a keener radiance then;
And thy smile so dazzling bright,
Ne'er can be so bright again;—
Let each faithless grace depart,
Spring can never leave thy heart!
Shed a keener radiance then;
And thy smile so dazzling bright,
Ne'er can be so bright again;—
Let each faithless grace depart,
Spring can never leave thy heart!
It is warm as ever still,
Fond and faithful to the core;
Withering sorrow cannot chill,
Would she ne'er might wring it more!
Years may dim the rose of youth,
So they spare the bosom's truth.
Fond and faithful to the core;
Withering sorrow cannot chill,
Would she ne'er might wring it more!
Years may dim the rose of youth,
So they spare the bosom's truth.
Time and his twin-sister Care,
Have but lightly touched thy brow;
And the lines imprinted there,
Never lovelier seemed than now;
For they breathe the spell refined
Of a sorrow-chastened mind.
Have but lightly touched thy brow;
And the lines imprinted there,
Never lovelier seemed than now;
For they breathe the spell refined
Of a sorrow-chastened mind.
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Wherefore then should I repine
That thou art not as of old;
Since maturer gifts are thine,
Precious treasures, wealth untold;
Charms thy youth could never know,
Graces, time alone bestow!
That thou art not as of old;
Since maturer gifts are thine,
Precious treasures, wealth untold;
Charms thy youth could never know,
Graces, time alone bestow!
If we are not what we were,
We have not endured in vain;
Since the present hour is fair,
Why evoke the past again!
Am not I, and art not thou,
Calmer, wiser, happier now!
We have not endured in vain;
Since the present hour is fair,
Why evoke the past again!
Am not I, and art not thou,
Calmer, wiser, happier now!
| Lyrics of the heart | |