12
A DEAD ROSE.
We anchored just below the reach of sand
That glittered golden in the misty light;
And up the rocks we clambered hand in hand,
Forgetting that around us crept the night;
There is no night for those who live and love:
All time is merged in one intense delight.
That glittered golden in the misty light;
And up the rocks we clambered hand in hand,
Forgetting that around us crept the night;
There is no night for those who live and love:
All time is merged in one intense delight.
How near it seems to me!—that dreamy hush
Of silent sky, and subtle, sensuous air;
How 'neath his eyes my face burned with a flush
No other glance can ever summon there!
His head bent down; I felt his gentle hand
Cover my fingers, and his breath my hair.
Of silent sky, and subtle, sensuous air;
How 'neath his eyes my face burned with a flush
No other glance can ever summon there!
His head bent down; I felt his gentle hand
Cover my fingers, and his breath my hair.
He gathered from a bush, heavy with dew,
A single rose, and touched it with his lips;
And henceforth roses, to my fancy, grew
Sweet as the nectar that the brown bee sips.
He laid it on my cheek and, smiling, said,
The roses there put his rose in eclipse.
A single rose, and touched it with his lips;
And henceforth roses, to my fancy, grew
Sweet as the nectar that the brown bee sips.
He laid it on my cheek and, smiling, said,
The roses there put his rose in eclipse.
Ah, well! 'tis over. Two long years ago
I hid this rose with my most sacred things;
Its grace and glory gone, its light and glow,
All—save the perfume that around it clings.
I lay it by,—the faint, sweet summer smell
A sense of loss forever to me brings.
I hid this rose with my most sacred things;
Its grace and glory gone, its light and glow,
All—save the perfume that around it clings.
I lay it by,—the faint, sweet summer smell
A sense of loss forever to me brings.
