THERE ‘s a thing that grows by the fainting flower, And springs in the shade of the lady’s bower; The lily shrinks, and the rose turns pale, When they feel its breath in the summer gale, And the tulip curls its leaves in pride, And the blue-eyed violet starts aside; But the lily may flaunt, […]

THERE was a sound of hurrying feet, A tramp on echoing stairs, There was a rush along the aisles,– It was the hour of prayers. And on, like Ocean’s midnight wave, The current rolled along, When, suddenly, a stranger form Was seen amidst the throng. He was a dark and swarthy man, That uninvited guest; […]

Poor conquered monarch! though that haughty glance Still speaks thy courage unsubdued by time, And in the grandeur of thy sullen tread Lives the proud spirit of thy burning clime;– Fettered by things that shudder at thy roar, Torn from thy pathless wilds to pace this narrow floor! Thou wast the victor, and all nature […]

A BALLAD IT was the stalwart butcher man, That knit his swarthy brow, And said the gentle Pig must die, And sealed it with a vow. And oh! it was the gentle Pig Lay stretched upon the ground, And ah! it was the cruel knife His little heart that found. They took him then, those […]

THE sun stepped down from his golden throne. And lay in the silent sea, And the Lily had folded her satin leaves, For a sleepy thing was she; What is the Lily dreaming of? Why crisp the waters blue? See, see, she is lifting her varnished lid! Her white leaves are glistening through! The Rose […]

THE sun-browned girl, whose limbs recline When noon her languid hand has laid Hot on the green flakes of the pine, Beneath its narrow disk of shade; As, through the flickering noontide glare, She gazes on the rainbow chain Of arches, lifting once in air The rivers of the Roman’s plain;– Say, does her wandering […]

SHE twirled the string of golden beads, That round her neck was hung,— My grandsire’s gift; the good old man Loved girls when he was young; And, bending lightly o’er the cord, And turning half away, With something like a youthful sigh, Thus spoke the maiden gray:– “Well, one may trail her silken robe, And […]

As Clemence! when I saw thee last Trip down the Rue de Seine, And turning, when thy form had past, I said, “We meet again,”– I dreamed not in that idle glance Thy latest image came, And only left to memory’s trance A shadow and a name. The few strange words my lips had taught […]

SWEET Mary, I have never breathed The love it were in vain to name; Though round my heart a serpent wreathed, I smiled, or strove to smile, the same. Once more the pulse of Nature glows With faster throb and fresher fire, While music round her pathway flows, Like echoes from a hidden lyre. And […]

LET greener lands and bluer skies, If such the wide earth shows, With fairer cheeks and brighter eyes, Match us the star and rose; The winds that lift the Georgian’s veil, Or wave Circassia’s curls, Waft to their shores the sultan’s sail,– Who buys our Yankee girls? The gay grisette, whose fingers touch Love’s thousand […]

Is thy name Mary, maiden fair? Such should, methinks, its music be; The sweetest name that mortals bear Were best befitting thee; And she to whom it once was given, Was half of earth and half of heaven. I hear thy voice, I see thy smile, I look upon thy folded hair; Ah! while we […]

DEAREST, a look is but a ray Reflected in a certain way; A word, whatever tone it wear, Is but a trembling wave of air; A touch, obedience to a clause In nature’s pure material laws. The very flowers that bend and meet, In sweetening others, grow more sweet; The clouds by day, the stars […]

OH! I did love her dearly, And gave her toys and rings, And I thought she meant sincerely, When she took my pretty things. But her heart has grown as icy As a fountain in the fall, And her love, that was so spicy, It did not last at all. I gave her once a […]

IN THE ATHENIEUM GALLERY IT may be so,–perhaps thou hast A warm and loving heart; I will not blame thee for thy face, Poor devil as thou art. That thing thou fondly deem’st a nose, Unsightly though it be,– In spite of all the cold world’s scorn, It may be much to thee. Those eyes,–among […]

WAN-VISAGED thing! thy virgin leaf To me looks more than deadly pale, Unknowing what may stain thee yet,– A poem or a tale. Who can thy unborn meaning scan? Can Seer or Sibyl read thee now? No,–seek to trace the fate of man Writ on his infant brow. Love may light on thy snowy cheek, […]

WHAT is a poet’s love?– To write a girl a sonnet, To get a ring, or some such thing, And fustianize upon it. What is a poet’s fame?– Sad hints about his reason, And sadder praise from garreteers, To be returned in season. Where go the poet’s lines?– Answer, ye evening tapers! Ye auburn locks, […]

IT was a tall young oysterman lived by the river-side, His shop was just upon the bank, his boat was on the tide; The daughter of a fisherman, that was so straight and slim, Lived over on the other bank, right opposite to him. It was the pensive oysterman that saw a lovely maid, Upon […]

THE dinner-bell, the dinner-bell Is ringing loud and clear; Through hill and plain, through street and lane, It echoes far and near; From curtained hall and whitewashed stall, Wherever men can hide, Like bursting waves from ocean caves, They float upon the tide. I smell the smell of roasted meat! I hear the hissing fry […]

THE folks, that on the first of May Wore winter coats and hose, Began to say, the first of June, “Good Lord! how hot it grows!” At last two Fahrenheits blew up, And killed two children small, And one barometer shot dead A tutor with its ball! Now all day long the locusts sang Among […]

WRITTEN AT SEA IF sometimes in the dark blue eye, Or in the deep red wine, Or soothed by gentlest melody, Still warms this heart of mine, Yet something colder in the blood, And calmer in the brain, Have whispered that my youth’s bright flood Ebbs, not to flow again. If by Helvetia’s azure lake, […]