Poems (Linn)/The Angel of the Annunciation

by Edith Willis Linn

THE ANGEL OF THE ANNUNCIATION.

AHOLY angel came one night
 With lilies in her hand;
All silvered by the clear moonlight
 I saw her stand.

About her like a halo shone
 Her rippling golden hair,
The lilies cast their shadow on
 Her bosom bare.

Her eyes gleamed softly through the gloom;
 —Her radiant, heavenly eyes—
Her presence made my narrow room
 A Paradise.

Low words she spoke, sweet words that made
 My soul grow still to know;
And softly on my breast she laid
 The blooms, like snow,

Then all was silence, and the moon
 Across my casement shone;
The vision vanished all too soon;
 I was alone,

Save for the lilies sweet and white
 That on my breast were laid:
Save for the memory of the light
 Her presence made.

Since that rare hour, upon my breast
 Those lilies still I bear;
Fadeless and beautiful, they rest
 Their pureness there.

The years may come, the years may go.
 And light and youth depart;
Immortal shall their beauty glow
 Within my heart.