What destiny had marked her for its own
In that dim land of mystery and tears?
Did royal purple veil those polished limbs,
Or humble hovel hold her first young years?
Was she a vestal, bound by vows of fate
To maiden chastity and pure esteem?
Or yet—or yet, like some incarnate dream
Of hero-worth, was there in that lost state
Whence she was snatched by lustful hands of hate,
One who had won her soul in love supreme,
While human eyes gloat o'er her new estate
Grieves she, in this white silence, for her home
And for her lover's tender kiss?
Vain quest,
Vain longing to unwind the tangled skein!
Those marble lips, as pale as sea-beat foam,
Their secret keep through all of Time's unrest.
The careless world that cons her beauty o'er
Goes on its thoughtless way, nor e'er has guessed
What stinging, martyr thorns were on her temples pressed.
In that dim land of mystery and tears?
Did royal purple veil those polished limbs,
Or humble hovel hold her first young years?
Was she a vestal, bound by vows of fate
To maiden chastity and pure esteem?
Or yet—or yet, like some incarnate dream
Of hero-worth, was there in that lost state
Whence she was snatched by lustful hands of hate,
One who had won her soul in love supreme,
While human eyes gloat o'er her new estate
Grieves she, in this white silence, for her home
And for her lover's tender kiss?
Vain quest,
Vain longing to unwind the tangled skein!
Those marble lips, as pale as sea-beat foam,
Their secret keep through all of Time's unrest.
The careless world that cons her beauty o'er
Goes on its thoughtless way, nor e'er has guessed
What stinging, martyr thorns were on her temples pressed.
AN OLD VALENTINE
UP in the attic I found it,
In the cedar-scented chest,
This quaint, old-fashioned valentine
To my great-great aunt addressed.
Cupids and arrows and verses
Bound by a tinsel chain,
And under a blood-red rose the line:
"Sweetheart, Belinda Jane!"
In the cedar-scented chest,
This quaint, old-fashioned valentine
To my great-great aunt addressed.
Cupids and arrows and verses
Bound by a tinsel chain,
And under a blood-red rose the line:
"Sweetheart, Belinda Jane!"
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