Classic Poem

O! darkly fair!—yet beautifully bright,
I know not how to call thee, sweet unknown!
Whether a Tropic Day or Arctic Night
Or the soft Twilight of a temperate Zone.

Although I have but seen thee from afar,
And haply never may behold thee near,
Let me adore thee as a lovely star,
Altho' my words may never reach thine ear!

No hopeless ship-wrecked mariner could watch
Through dim, death-glazing eyes for morning's ray,
More eagerly, than I have striv'n to catch
That movement of thy lattice, once a day!

Nor always once!—day after day has past
And be it pride, or bashfulness, or scorn,
Thy well-named Jealousie is closed as fast,
As though it had been of the monster born!

Did'st thou observe me? Hence is thy disdain?
Ah! pardon I entreat, my wandering eyes!
They sought with fond Astrology to gain
Some hint from Destiny's high star-lit skies!

Alas! oershadowed by a cloudy veil
The skies disclose their oracles no more,
And even the beacon, I was wont to hail,
The taper in thy window gleams no more!

Darkling I tempt my solitary fate
Full of heart throbbing wishes, doubts and fears,
As thou may'st be a widow—maid—or mate
So must my vision end—in bliss or tears!

And yet—if maiden, I should never win—
If widow, both would be too wise to marry—
If wife, twere worse—to love thee were a sin—
And I have quite as much as I can carry!