ALL-GOLDEN is her virgin head, Her cheek a bloomy rose, Carnation-bright the fluttering red That o'er it softly flows, But neither gem nor floweret vies With that clear wonder of her eyes. But twice hath hue like theirs been given To be beheld of me, And once 'twas in the twilight heaven, Once in the summer sea; A yearning gladness thence was born, A dream delightful and forlorn. For once in heaven a single star Lay in a light unknown,— A tender tint, more lucid far Than all that eve had shown,— It seemed between the gold and grey The far dawn of a faery day. And once where ocean's depth divine O'er silvern sands was hung, Gleamed in the half-lit hyaline The hope no song has sung,— The memory of a world more fair Than all our blazing wealth of air. For dear though earthly days may flow, Our dream is dearer yet;— How little is the life we know To life that we forget!— Till in a maiden's eyes we see What once hath been, what still shall be. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DOROTHY Q; A FAMILY PORTRAIT by OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES MODERN LOVE: 43 by GEORGE MEREDITH THE ARGONAUTS (ARGONATUICA): MEDEA'S DREAM by APOLLONIUS RHODIUS A LUNCHEON (THOMAS HARDY ENTERTAINS THE PRINCE OF WALES) by HENRY MAXIMILIAN BEERBOHM BENEDICITE by ANNA CALLENDER BRACKETT THE PHILOSOPHER by BERTON BRALEY |