The Dream and Other Poems By the Hon'ble Mrs Norton |
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THE VISIONARY PORTRAIT. |
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The Dream and Other Poems | ||
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THE VISIONARY PORTRAIT.
I
As by his lonely hearth he sate,The shadow of a welcome dream
Pass'd o'er his heart,—disconsolate
His home did seem;
Comfort in vain was spread around,
For something still was wanting found.
II
Therefore he thought of one who mightFor ever in his presence stay;
Whose dream should be of him by night,
Whose smile should be for him by day;
And the sweet vision, vague and far,
Rose on his fancy like a star.
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III
“Let her be young, yet not a child,Whose light and inexperienced mirth
Is all too wingéd and too wild
For sober earth,—
Too rainbow-like such mirth appears,
And fades away in misty tears.
IV
“Let youth's fresh rose still gently bloomUpon her smooth and downy cheek,
Yet let a shadow, not of gloom,
But soft and meek,
Tell that some sorrow she hath known,
Tho' not a sorrow of her own.
V
“And let her eyes be of the grey,The soft grey of the brooding dove,
Full of the sweet and tender ray
Of modest love;
For fonder shows that dreamy hue
Than lustrous black or heavenly blue.
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VI
“Let her be full of quiet grace,No sparkling wit with sudden glow
Bright'ning her purely chisell'd face
And placid brow;
Not radiant to the stranger's eye,—
A creature easily pass'd by;
VII
“But who, once seen, with untold powerFor ever haunts the yearning heart,
Raised from the crowd that self-same hour
To dwell apart,
All sainted and enshrined to be
The idol of our memory!
VIII
“And oh! let Mary be her name—It hath a sweet and gentle sound
At which no glories dear to fame
Come crowding round,
But which the dreaming heart beguiles
With holy thoughts and household smiles
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IX
“With peaceful meetings, welcomes kind,And love, the same in joy and tears,
And gushing intercourse of mind
Thro' faithful years;
Oh! dream of something half divine,
Be real—be mortal—and be mine!”
The Dream and Other Poems | ||