Poems (Carmichael)/Introductory
INTRODUCTORY.
The selection of verses to which this introduces the reader is published with the consent—somewhat reluctantly given—of the authoress, by a devoted circle of her friends and admirers, who design thus to preserve an early memento of her talents and genius as a writer; and by its circulation among kindred spirits, who as yet are strangers to her muse, secure for her poems a more extended acquaintance and recognition.
It will hardly be deemed a matter of local prejudice merely, that this friendly alliance dotes upon the fact that so gifted a child of song has been vouchsafed to the remote and obscure region of country known as the Valley of Great Salt Lake. It is indeed regarded by them as worthy of more than ordinary note, that, in such a secluded spot shut out from the world at large by the frowning barriers of the Rocky Mountains; without the advantages of books and intellectual training; without the soul-expanding influences of a cultivated and liberal public sentiment; away from the softer elements of natural beauty, and having nothing but her own heart to commune with her songs have taken so wide and glorious a flight; ever loyal to truth and humanity, ever sweet and melodious as the voice of nature.
That the authoress does not share in the high appreciation of her efforts entertained by others, is evinced by the following fragment from an apologetic poem, recently published.
Hath an impatient wing;
Yet, in the grasp of reason caught,
'Tis but a fragile thing—
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Ephemeral thing! unwisely sought!
Who cares to win a woman's thought?"
To this, the liberty is taken of replying in the cheering language of an intimate and sympathetic female friend.
Thy thought untrammeled soar;
Our souls would drink with pleasure
The music of each measure
Thy spirit shall outpour.
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Trust still thy woman heart,
That love and truth holds dear;
And still thy woman thought,
With so much beauty fraught,
Shall echo far and near."
Great Salt Lake City, June 1st, 1866.