How beautiful, fair girl, art thou,
All robed in innocence and truth!
Upon thy calm and snowy brow,
Beam, like a crown, the smiles of youth;
Heaven's sunshine falls and lights thy way,
As one too pure and bright for sorrow--
And virtue's soft and seraph ray
Flings lustre on thy dawning morrow,--
Giving a promise, that thy life
Will ever be, with pleasure, rife!
Upon those dark, bright eyes of thine,
That soft, like moonlit waters, beam,
I love to gaze, and, as they shine,
Of those ethereal beings dream,
That oft, on us, have smiled, in sleep,
Then quickly flown, and made us weep,
That e'er to man, so much of heaven
Should just be shown,--ah! never given!
How soft the rose upon thy cheek,
Blent with the lily's milder hue,
Whose mingling tints of beauty speak
A sinless spirit--calm and true!--
The smile, that wreathes thy rosy lip,
Is young affection's radiant token--
Beauty and Truth in fellowship!--
The symbol of a heart unbroken;
Within thy bosom, holy thought,
As in a temple, hath its shrine,
Refulgent with a glory caught
From the pure presence of thy mind,
Whose lustre flings a hallowing ray,
Around thee, calm as orient day!
Oh! may thy life be ever bright,
As aught thine early dreams have framed,
And not a shadow dim its light,
Till heaven, in mercy, shall have claim'd
Thee, as a being fit for naught
That earth can boast, all sorrow-fraught
As are its brightest visions. May
Thy life be one long dream of love,
Unbroken 'til the final day,
When heaven shall waft thy soul above,
And crown thee, as an angel _there_,
Who wast indeed an angel _here!_