Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, LINES (AFTER SEEING MACREADY IN VIRGNIA), by ANNA PEYRE DINNIES


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

LINES (AFTER SEEING MACREADY IN VIRGNIA), by                    
First Line: And I have seen thee, gifted one! At last!
Last Line: Still is thine empire own'd in every heart!
Alternate Author Name(s): Shackleford, Anna Peyre
Subject(s): Macready, William Charles (1793-1873)


AND I have seen thee, gifted one! at last!
Thy spirit-stirring accents -- they have come
Like some remember'd melody, long past,
Calling up fancies of my childhood's home;
And speaking to my heart in tones that seem
The clear familiar whisperings of a dream!

For thou hast been to me a dream! thy name
A spell round which my fancy fondly clung
Since the first echo of its deathless fame,
Like far-off music, on my ear was flung --
And I have ponder'd o'er thy power, till thought
Grew faint with all the wonders it hath wrought

And I have dream'd that it should yet be mine
To sit entranced beneath thy wizard skill,
And see thee wield that mystic gift divine
Which held each heart a captive to thy will;
While by its aid the intellectual realm
Obey'd thy impulse as a ship its helm.

Yes! thou hast been to me a dream -- and lo!
Its bright fulfilment in the prairied West!
For though Time's pinion may have touch'd thy brow
The gem within defies his withering test!
Genius triumphant! Glorious Prince of Art!
Still is thine empire own'd in every heart!





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