And then I saw her! Somehow, suddenly, My eyes, my own eyes, unbelievably, Beheld her I had come so far to see! I was not dreaming, no! I looked to where The lovely, armless thing with parted hair Had always been . . . in dream. And she was there! Serene, aloof, In her recess, alone -- Behind her, velvet of a sombre tone -- The inexpressible, expressed in stone! Perfection, By some ancient master wrought In marble -- by his passion, toil and thought From formlessness to mortal vision brought! Eternal beauty, Dreamed and fashioned then -- To gladden earth forever -- even when The dream has died in hearts of living men! Immortal grace Of lines that curve and flow, To mock at schools of art that come and go And little, mouthing men who claim to know! And now, remembering her, I muse and smile At all of those mutations we call style -- And I am comforted a little while! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ON THE EPHEMERALNESS OF BEAUTY by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS MUFFLED by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN QUIETNESS by ANNE MILLAY BREMER DELIVERANCE by CHARLES WILLIAM BRODRIBB DIRIGE VIAS MEAS DOMINE! by PATRICK CAREY ON MY BOY HENRY by JANE CAVENDISH AN AUTUMN GHOST-TRAIL by ALICE CHURCHILL CHAPHE |