My eyes were staring high Aloft for dreams of rapture and of awe, And she—she passed me by Before I saw! A roaring gulch of fire The street,—and brilliant stars possessed its skies. But purer with their passionate desire, Her dauntless eyes! The profile calm and strong, Yet wistful with the hint of alien race ... Oh, like a battle-song Her thrilling face! The coarse, dark hair above the tawdry shawl, The mothering bosom where her baby clung,— And all the burden of her life, with all Her blood so young! Her face uplifted in the blue arc-light, She moved with that high courage none would mark,— Turned at the corner, wonderful and bright Against the dark,— And, as her grave lips parted, and her eyes Sought her child's eyes with whispers soft and sweet, All the proud stars, the vast imperial skies Swooned at her feet! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...INDIAN SUMMER by SARA TEASDALE AN ANCIENT PROVERB by WILLIAM BLAKE EPISTLE TO MR. MURRAY by GEORGE GORDON BYRON THE RETIRED CAT by WILLIAM COWPER TOMORROW by FELIX LOPE DE VEGA CARPIO THE HAPPY LIFE OF A COUNTRY PARSON by ALEXANDER POPE |