Poems (Toke)/Lines (And didst thou, then, unchanged, unmoved)

by Emma Toke

LINES.

TO N. T.

ND didst thou, then, unchanged, unmoved,
 For years still cling to one,
Nor e'er forget that one beloved,
 Though hope almost was gone?
And didst thou in full many a scene,
 When all around was gay,
Still turn to hours that once had been,
 And her so far away?

Blessings upon thy faithful heart!
 That heart which nought could change;
Time failed to bid its love depart,
 Or absence to estrange.
Years passed upon their rapid wings,
 The scenes of earth swept on;
Yet, firm amid all fleeting things,
 Thy heart still clung to one.

And now, when hope at last appears,
 Oh! may that loved one prove
The rainbow of thy future years!
 The pole-star of thy love!
And like the moon, with borrowed ray,
 In thy light only shine;
Feel every cloud that dims thy way,
 And share each joy of thine.

Yes, dearest! now I feel to be
 Thine own in heart and hand,
And cheerfully I leave for thee
 My home and native land.
I take thy lot,—in joy or pain,
 One wish one prayer is mine,
That life nor death may break the chain
 Which binds my soul to thine.

E.

June, 1837.