Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TO LIZZIE, by MARY N. MCDONALD


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TO LIZZIE, by                    
First Line: There's a charm about thee, lizzie
Last Line: Of a kind and loving heart.
Alternate Author Name(s): Meigs, Mary N.; Bleeker, Mary N.
Subject(s): Browning, Elizabeth Barrett (1806-1861)


THERE's a charm about thee, Lizzie,
That I cannot well define,
And I sometimes think it lieth
In that soft blue eye of thine;
And yet, though pleasant is thine eye,
And beautiful thy lip --
As a rose-leaf bathed in honey dews,
A bee might love to sip, --
Yet I think it is nor lip, nor eye,
Which binds me with its spell;
But a something dearer far than these,
Though undefinable.

When I meet thee, dearest Lizzie,
When I hear thy gentle tone,
When my hand is press'd so tenderly,
So warmly in thine own;
Why then I think it is thy voice,
Whose music like a bird's,
Can soothe me with the melody
Of sweetly-spoken words:
Perchance the pressure of thy hand
This hidden charm may be --
Or the magic, Lizzie, of a sigh
That lures my heart to thee.

Perchance it is thy gentleness,
Perchance thy winning smile,
Which lurketh in such dimples,
As might easily beguile;
Or perchance the music of thy laugh
Hath a bewildering flow --
Yet I cannot tell, my Lizzie,
If it be thy laugh or no;
For mirth as musical as thine
Hath met my ear before,
But its memory faded from my heart
When once the strain was o'er.

Oh! for the wand of fairy
To dissolve the withering spell,
And teach me, dearest Lizzie,
What it is I love so well.
Thy simple truth and earnestness,
Perchance it may be this,
Or the gentle kindness breathing
In thy morn or evening kiss --
Thy care for others' weal or wo,
Thy quickly springing tears --
Or, at times, a quiet thoughtfulness,
Unmeet for thy brief years.

Well, be it either look or tone,
Or smile, or soft caress,
I know not, Lizzie, yet I feel
I could not love thee less.
And something happy there may be,
"Like light within a vase,"
Which, from the soul-depths gleaming forth,
Flings o'er thee such a grace.
Perchance, the hidden charm I seek,
That words may not impart,
Is but the warm affections
Of a kind and loving heart.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net