THE CRYSTAL GEM.
This mystic gem thou gavest to me
I took it, prized it; could I deem,
'Twould falsehood e'er detect in thee,
Or change so soon my heart's fond dream.
So pure, so bright at first it shone,
It might have graced love's diadem;
A cloud has gather'd o'er the stone,
Then take again the worthless gem.
No longer now its radiant beams
Shine bright as night-lamps o'er the sea,
No longer now to me it seems
Love's beacon glittering beauteously.
O no! it telis of falsehood's chill,
Of fickle heart and broken vow;
Truth's light is past-hope's glowing thrill
Love's smile-nay, all have faded now!
And give me back the ardent kiss,
Which seal'd this heart so truly thine;
For other lips have shared that bliss,
Which I believed was wholly mine.
I will not blame thy falsehood now,
I will not chide thy vows forgot;
Yet look on this pale wither'd brow,
And read the grief which dieth not.
TO MYRA.
Mine, O be mine, the love which steals,
In its first warm breath from the maiden's heart !
Like the purest scent, which the rose conceals,
Till its opening petals in beauty part.
Mine. O be mine, to catch the glance
Which unguarded flashes from Myra's eye,
Like the tell-tale beam, which, when hosts advance,
Reveals where the spears of the ambush lie.
Mine, O be mine, to hear the tale,
That in whispers tells of affection won,
Like the murmuring sound in the lonely vale,
That betrays where the flower-hid waters run.
Mine, Obe mine, to see thee smile,
And take my tone from thine hour of mirth,
As the flower in the far-off Indian isle
Awakes, when the sun beams light the earth.
Mine, O be mine, to see thee weep,
And catch thy tears as they precious fall,
As crowds in the blood of martyrs steep
A token, to make it more blest than all.
Mine, O be mine, for e'er to guard
Each lightsome step of that perfect form,
Till death shall release the watch and ward,
Which has borne the sun, and withstood the storm.
