Landon in The Literary Gazette 1825/Stanzas 3
Literary Gazette, 27th August, 1825, Page 557
STANZAS.
Grace and beauty had crown'd thee,
When first thy magic bound me;
In its zenith of power
Was thy summer hour,
And a light like sunshine was round thee.
The world seem'd made to adore thee,
Proud hearts grew humble before thee;
I thought of thee
As a deity
From the blue sky shining o'er thee.
Thy youth and thy days of gladness
Were wasted by early sadness;
Falsehood and care,
And thoughts that wear
The brain to death or madness.
But these were days departed;
And if thou wert broken-hearted,
Thou wert too proud
To let the crowd
Know when the rebel tear started.
But once I saw thee weeping,
Thy black hair round thee sweeping
Like the shadow of night,
To hide from sight
The secret grief thou wer't keeping.
Thy heart in its spring had been blighted
By the hope in which it delighted;
Yet thou had'st pardon'd, and kept
Thy love, and had wept
For him who had thus love requited.
I thought I would then have given,
Hopes of earth, aye, and hopes of heaven,
For the precious tears
Thou hadst shed thro' years,
For him thou hadst loved and forgiven.
I never breathed passion to thee,
A boy, I dared not woo thee;
Enough that my breast
For its secret guest,
And its treasured idol knew thee.
Once I felt the caressing
Of thy soft lips my forehead pressing;
And a fire and pain
Past thro' my brain,
Though 'twas but as a mother's blessing.
Long year's time has been telling,—
Now the dark grave is thy dwelling;
And my heart is as still,
And almost as chill
As the cold sod over thee swelling.
Iole.