Classic Poem

SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN ON THE ENVELOPE TO A LOCK OF
HAIR .

I.

Pledge of a love as pure and deep
As ever thrilled in mortal breast!
I would not, could I break thy sleep,
Recall thee from the couch of rest,
Where thou art now in peace reclining,
A stranger to the world's repining!

II.

No! Bright as was thy brief career,
In this wild waste of storm and gloom, —
And much as I have wished thee here,
My soul's dark sorrows to illume, —
In loneliness I'd rather languish,
Than have thee here to share my anguish!

III.

Besides, would even Heaven allow
Thy advent to this earth again;
That boon to thee were cruel now,
Since human ills — a numerous train —
Would cross thee in thy path of life,
And stir thy young sweet thoughts to strife!

IV.

Yet looking on this sun-bright tress
Unlocks the source of dried-up tears;
And thoughts, intense and maddening, press
On my hot brain; — though hopes or fears,
Since thou and thy sweet mother perished,
Have ne'er by me been felt or cherished.

V.

B LOSSOM OF L OVE ! Yes, on my mind
Strange and unusual feelings rush;
The flood-gates of my heart unbind,
And bid its waters wildly gush, —
As gazing on these threads I see
The all that now remains of thee!

VI.

B LOSSOM OF L OVE ! Farewell! — Farewell!
I go to join the noisy throng;
But, in my soul's deep — inmost cell,
Thoughts that to thine and thee belong,
Will ever bloom as fresh and fair
As when they first were planted there!

VII.

And, oh, if tears of woe may nourish
The flowers of Memory in the breast;
Then those in mine will surely flourish,
And each succeeding hour invest
Their stems with charms unknown before, —
Till we three meet to part no more!