Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A SKETCH, by DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A SKETCH, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Dost thou thus love me, o thou beautiful
Last Line: And beyond thee, god's heaven, thick-sown with stars.
Alternate Author Name(s): Mulock, Dinah Maria


"Emelie, that fayrer was to seene
Than is the lilye on hys stalke grene.....
Uprose the sun and uprose Emelie."

DOST thou thus love me, O thou beautiful?
So beautiful, that by thy side I seem
Like a great ducky cloud beside a star:
Yet thou creep'st o'er its edges, and it rests
On its lone path, the slow deep-hearted cloud --
Then opes a rift and lets thee enter in;
And with thy beauty shining on its breast,
Feels no more its own blackness -- thou art fair.

Dost thou thus love me, O thou all beloved,
In whose large store the very meanest coin
Would out-buy my whole wealth? Yet here thou comest
Like a kind heiress from her purple and down
Uprising, who for pity cannot sleep,
But goes forth to the stranger at her gate --
The beggared stranger at her beauteous gate --
And clothes and feeds; scarce blest till she has blest.

Dost thou thus love me, O thou pure of heart,
Whose very looks are prayers? What couldst thou see
In this forsaken pool by the yew-wood's side,
To sit down at its bank, and dip thy hand,
Saying, "it is so clear!" -- And lo, erelong
Its blackness caught the shimmer of they wings,
Its slimes slid downward from thy stainless palm,
Its depths grew still that there thy form might rise.

O beautiful! O well-beloved! O rich
In all that makes my need! I lay me down
I' the shadow of thy love, and feel no pain.

The cloud floats on, thee glittering on its breast,
The beggar wears thy purple as his own:
The noisome waves, made calm, creep to thy feet
Rejoicing that they yet can image thee,
And beyond thee, God's heaven, thick-sown with stars.






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