 | English melodies |  |
270
OH! IF BEAUTY WERE ALL.
Oh! if beauty were all that affection desir'd,
If the heart to mere feature might still remain true,
I could gaze on thy form, and deem nothing requir'd
To seal the sweet charm that thy gracefulness threw:—
But, alas! though the shrine be so brilliant to sight,
The mind's sweeter loveliness dwells in it not;
Like the flower on which Nature hath lavish'd her light,
But the charm most enduring—its fragrance—forgot!
If the heart to mere feature might still remain true,
I could gaze on thy form, and deem nothing requir'd
To seal the sweet charm that thy gracefulness threw:—
But, alas! though the shrine be so brilliant to sight,
The mind's sweeter loveliness dwells in it not;
Like the flower on which Nature hath lavish'd her light,
But the charm most enduring—its fragrance—forgot!
If the rose of thy cheek, love, might never decay,
Thy form all its radiant beauty retain—
If those eyes, that eclipse the clear azure of day,
As beaming, enchanting, might ever remain;—
Still, believe me, the shrine its adorers would lose—
'Tis Mind that alone is with constancy blest.
Oh! it is not the flower of the loveliest hues,
But the flower of most fragrance we wear on our breast!
Thy form all its radiant beauty retain—
If those eyes, that eclipse the clear azure of day,
As beaming, enchanting, might ever remain;—
271
'Tis Mind that alone is with constancy blest.
Oh! it is not the flower of the loveliest hues,
But the flower of most fragrance we wear on our breast!
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