COULD tongue define In warbling line The music of this heart of mine, 'Twould sing, to-day, A roundelay For thee, @3ma belle Créole Althée!@1 But words are weak, When words would speak The ripeness of thy satin cheek, Or pearl that tips With dewy sips The arches of those blushing lips. The floods of lace That flirt and race In eddying ripples round thy face, Have framed, I ween, In magic mien, The daintiest image ever seen. Ah, sweet Althée! Around thee play The plumed and crystal tribes of May; And in those eyes Float, flash, and rise Gay atmosphere of orient guise. The eyes—the eyes! The planet eyes Fresh from their dreams of Paradise! My spirit sees, But never flees Their sorcery of sorceries. Truth, Grace, and Love From worlds above— Hints of the Pure and Holy Dove— Divinely bright, These gems of sight Are throned upon their globes of light. Thus heaven-beguiled, Beloved child, Have all the cherubs on thee smiled; Let joys depart, Still, Sweet, thou art Voiced in the Virgin's sacred heart. Madonna! fold Her heart of gold In thy dear arms, when it is cold; Madonna! sing This bird of spring To sleep beneath thy velvet wing! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HIGH PLAINS RAG by JAMES GALVIN SECRET LOVE; SONG by JOHN CLARE ALEXANDER'S FEAST; OR, THE POWER OF MUSIC by JOHN DRYDEN ON RECEIVING [THE FIRST] NEWS OF THE WAR by ISAAC ROSENBERG WORLD'S WORTH by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI ON RECEIPT OF A RARE PIPE by W. H. B. EPITAPH; INSCRIPTION FOR A MONUMENT ERECTED BY GENTLEMAN FOR HIS LADY by JAMES BEATTIE |