University of Virginia Library

A SONG.

[A little cloud that hung, my love]

A little cloud that hung, my love,
So low 'twixt earth and sky,
Too sad it seemed for earth, from Heaven
Afar, yet ever nigh;
And oft it longed on Earth's warm breast
To fall in kindly rain,
And oft, on morn or evening's crest
To leave a crimson stain;
Yet fell not, rose not, till a bright,
Keen arrow pierced it through,
All fleecy thin, all milky white,
All golden clear it grew;
What could it do but fade, my love,
And melt into the blue?
A little wind that hid, my love,
Beside the water's edge,
And shook a music unforbid
From out the withered sedge,
And whistled o'er the dreary moor,
And round the barren hill,
And sighed at many a fastened door
And darkened window-sill,
And through the forest whirled and swept,
When leaves fall wearily,
And o'er the lake's cold bosom crept,
And moaned beside the sea,
Until between the sea and sky
It found a quiet cave,
All lined with mosses soft and dry,
Afar it heard the sea-bird's cry,
Afar the restless wave;
What could it do but die, my love?
What could it do but die?