Classic and Contemporary Poetry
TO A STOLEN RING, by NATHANIEL PARKER WILLIS Poet's Biography First Line: Oh for thy history now! Hadst thou a tongue Last Line: Amid thy shining jewels like a star. Subject(s): Jewelry & Jewelers | ||||||||
OH for thy history now! Hadst thou a tongue To whisper of thy secrets, I could lay Upon thy jewell'd tracery mine ear, And dream myself in heaven. Thou hast been worn In that fair creature's pride, and thou hast felt The bounding of the haughtiest blood that e'er Sprang from the heart of woman; and thy gold Has lain upon her forehead in the hour Of sadness, when the weary thoughts came fast, And life was but a bitterness with all Its vividness and beauty. She has gazed In her fair girlhood on thy snowy pearls, And mused away the hours, and she has bent On thee the downcast radiance of her eye When a deep tone was eloquent in her ear, And thou hast lain upon her cheek, and press'd Back on her heart its beatings, and put by From her vein'd temples the luxuriant curls; And in her peaceful sleep, when she has lain In her unconscious beauty, and the dreams Of her high heart came goldenly and soft, Thou hast been there unchidden, and hast felt The swelling of the clear transparent veins As the rich blood rush'd through them, warm and fast. I am impatient as I gaze on thee, Thou inarticulate jewel! Thou hast heard With thy dull ear such music! -- the low tone Of a young sister's tenderness, when night Hath folded them together like one flower -- The sudden snatch of a remember'd song Warbled capriciously -- the careless word Lightly betraying the inaudible thought Working within the heart; and more, than all, Thou hast been lifted when the fervent prayer For a loved mother, or the sleeping one Lying beside her, trembled on her lip, And the warm tear that from her eye stole out As the soft lash fell over it, has lain Amid thy shining jewels like a star. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE KING'S JEWEL by PHOEBE CARY THE LOST JEWEL by EMILY DICKINSON THE BRACELET: TO JULIA by ROBERT HERRICK ANTIQUE JEWELER by FREDERICK HENRY HERBERT ADLER MY JEWEL CASE by BESSE BURNETT BELL ANDRE'S LAST REQUEST [OR, REQUEST TO WASHINGTON] [OCTOBER 1, 1780] by NATHANIEL PARKER WILLIS |
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