The secret lover.
[James Parker.—Here first printed.]
O! could'st thou for a moment look
Within this heart o' mine;
An' there peruse, as in a book,
Ilk' feeling's secret sign;
It couldna—wouldna but reveal
Its deepest thought to thee;
Then only—only could'st thou feel
How dear thou art to me.
It ne'er could be by look or sigh
Or word frae me exprest—
The fond deep love that fervently
Is throbbin' in my breast,—
Although uncherish'd and unblest
Wi' kindred flame in thine—
Like angel holiness imprest
Upon some earthly shrine.