To the fair unknown! These lines I dedicate, And if the gods of chance are very kind And be at all towards me compassionate, Perchance they may create some gentle wind Which will, like balmy zephyrs from the south, Bearing in their soft embrace the warm sun's kiss, Whisper the words I fain would speak by mouth To her, my only hope of earthly bliss. It matters not that I as yet have never Gazed with enraptured eyes upon her face, My soul is filled with love which lives forever, And none but she my throne of love will grace. I see her in the flowers of the wildwood, As pure as they when bathed in summer dew, The charm and grace of sweet, unspotted childhood Are yet unsullied in my mental view. It matters not that I have never listened To her sweet voice outpouring on the air, For every song that ever love has christened Creates a vision of my lady fair. I hear her in the rippling, trilling water. That laughs and dances in yon meadow brook, And often have I in the greenwood sought her, Deceived by song birds in some hidden nook. I have reared to her an altar of devotion, And inscribed it as Athenians of old To the one who claims my loftiest emotion, And is worthy of love's frankincense and gold. And I'm waiting for some mighty Paul of learning To declare the one that I would here enthrone, To declare the love that in my heart is burning To the fairest of the fair who's still unknown. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...YOUTH PENETRANT by CONRAD AIKEN THE CAMELOPARD by HILAIRE BELLOC CURTAIN by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON PLEDGE by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: HILDRUP TUBBS by EDGAR LEE MASTERS THE DUNES OF INDIANA by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |