Was in thy keeping. It will follow thee;
'Tis linked with thine existence, and will go
Whither thou goest. When thou art by the sea,
Mark how the tides obey their heavenly queen;
Beautiful mystery! Thus, by some influence
Which you may never learn to understand,
My spirit follows thine. If in visions
My look is stern, or even dark and fierce,
Think of the fires that make life agony,
And marvel if thou canst, that they should shine
Through my distorted features. I tell thee
Thou canst not measure with thine utmost thought
The depth of my wild passion.
Azlea.This is why I fear thee:
My different spirit shrinks away with dread,
And shuddereth to see
The fierce, wild passions by seclusion fed,
And nourished in the gloom
Of the deep cloister, and the dim recess
Of monastery and tomb,
Till this mad phrensy is called love's excess!
Her. No more, no more! True, in my burning brain
Are thoughts of phrensied wildness; but say not
They are the offspring of dark phantasy,
Nurtured in silence and dim solitude.
When first I saw thee on this wild sea-shore—
So frail and youthful, yet alone, amid
A scene for older hearts and stronger minds
To gaze and muse upon; and when I heard
Nature's sweet poetry in every word,
And saw, and knew, thy high and holy heart
Beating in unison with the mighty pulse
In the great heart of nature—then I knew
There was a love angels themselves might share,
Nor wrong their heavenly nature. Such was mine;
