Classic Poem

One minute more of life! Enough to snatch
This flower to my bosom, and to catch
The parting glance and signal overhead
From one who sits and waits to see me dead.
One minute more! Enough to let him see
How straight the message fell from him to me,
And how, his talisman upon my breast,
I'll face the end as calmly as the rest —
Th' impassive wall of faces seems to break
And shew one face aquiver for my sake
How different death seems, with a hand that throws
Across the pathway of my doom a rose,
How brief and paltry life, compared to this
O'er toppling moment of supremest bliss!
Farewell! I feel the lions' hungry breath,
I meet your eyes beloved, this is death.