ONCE in the twilight hour there stole on me A strange, sweet spirit! In her tender eyes Shone a far beauty, like the morning skies, And tranquil was she as a summer sea; An air of large, divine benignity Breathed, like a living garb of spiritual dyes About her -- with the gentle fall and rise Of her heart pulses tuned to mystery -- But, as I gazed, a sadness deep as death Crept o'er the beauty of her brow serene And a faint tremor stirred her shadowy lips; "Thou know'st me not, "she sighed, with mournful breath; "How can'st thou know me? Lo, through Fate's eclipse, Thou seest, too late, too late, thy MIGHT HAVE BEEN!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...GUILIELMUS REX by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH THE GIRL OF CADIZ by GEORGE GORDON BYRON A SEA DIALOGUE by OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES HAIL COLUMBIA by JOSEPH HOPKINSON NOCTURNE IN A DESERTED BRICKYARD by CARL SANDBURG SEADRIFT by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH URANIA; THE WOMAN IN THE MOON: THIS STORY MORALIZED by WILLIAM BASSE FRAGMENTS INTENDED FOR DEATH'S JEST-BOOK: SORROW by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES |