Page:Poems Rice.djvu/171

ON RECEIVING THE CARTE-DE-VISITE OF A FRIEND.

IT is perfect, every line,
 The form, the dress, the features too;
It seems, beloved, to me divine—
 This picture which the sunlight drew;
The attitude so full of grace,
 The dauntless military air,
The bold, serene, expressive face;
 The godlike only such can wear.

If but the muses now would come,
 With all their gifts my soul imbue,
I'd take my lyre and shrine in song,
 Or shadow forth thine image too;
Thy tenderness, thy power, combined
 Is visible in every shade;
The radiance, the undefined,
 E'en inspiration must evade.

Of life so full, a thing of art
 It hardly seems while I behold;
To me it ever will impart
 A mystic influence untold;