Where sunbeams fall, flowers wave, and light birds warble, To those who lov'd me murmuring in soft tone, “Here lies our friend, from pain secure and cold; And spreads his limbs in peace under the sun-warm'd mould !” FLOWERS I WOULD BRING FLOWERS I would bring if flowers could make thee fairer, And music, if the Muse were dear to thee; (For loving these would make thee love the bearer) But sweetest songs forget their melody, And loveliest flowers would but conceal the wearer: A rose I mark'd, and might have pluck'd; but she Blush'd as she bent, imploring me to spare her, Nor spoil her beauty by such rivalry. Alas! and with what gifts shall I pursue thee, What offerings bring, what treasures lay before thee; When earth with all her floral train doth woo thee, And all old poets and old songs adore thee; And love to thee is naught; from passionate mood Secur'd by joy's complacent plenitude! HUMAN LIFE SAD is our youth, for it is ever going, But tares, self-sown, have overtopp'd the wheat; Sad are our joys, for they were sweet in blowing; And still, O still, their dying breath is sweet: And sweet is youth, although it hath bereft us Of that which made our childhood sweeter still; You take a town you cannot keep; Upon her brow we gaz'd with awe, And lov'd, and wish'd to love, in vain But when the snow begins to thaw We shun with scorn the miry plain. Women with grace may yield: but she Appear'd some Virgin Deity. Bright was her soul as Dian's crest Whitening on Vesta's fane its sheen : Cold look'd she as the waveless breast Of some stone Dian at thirteen. Men lov'd but hope they deem'd to be A sweet Impossibility! THE QUEEN'S VESPERS HALF kneeling yet, and half reclining, She held her harp against her knees : Aloft the ruddy roofs were shining, And sunset touch'd the trees. From the gold border gleam'd like snow Her foot a crown enrich'd her brow: Dark gems confin'd that crimson vest Close-moulded on her neck and breast. In silence lay the cloistral court And shadows of the convent towers: Those royal halls and bowers. While from her lip the wild hymn floated, A Spirit, they deem'd, flew forward ever CARDINAL MANNING I LEARN'D his greatness first at Lavington: The moon had early sought her bed of brine, But we discours'd till now each starry sign Had sunk our theme was one and one alone: "Two minds supreme," he said, “our earth has known; One sang in science; one serv'd God in song; TO IMPERIA Thomas Burbidge THOU art not, and thou never canst be mine; The die of fate for me is thrown, And thou art made No more to me than some resplendent shade Flung on the canvas by old art divine; Or the far glory of some starry sign MOTHER'S LOVE HE sang so wildly, did the Boy, If 't was a madman's voice you heard, Within his heart did dwell: A bird that dallies with his voice Or on the free blue air his note But when again we stood below Grew slacker, and his note more slow, And then he stayed and bade me stay I could have stayed of mine own will, A little in the doorway sitting, Oh, what a loveliness her eyes SHE wore a wreath of roses The night that first we met; Yet methinks I see her now, A wreath of orange-blossoms, Was more thoughtful than before; And standing by her side was one Who strove, and not in vain, To soothe her, leaving that dear home I saw her but a moment, With the wreath of orange-blossoms And once again I see that brow; She weeps in silent solitude, I see her broken-hearted; Yet methinks I see her now, OH! WHERE DO FAIRIES HIDE THEIR HEADS ? OH! where do fairies hide their heads When frost has spoil'd their mossy beds, And draughts of dew they cannot sip |