Page:Poems Blind.djvu/17

And still around thee, thro' the battle's roar,
 Shimmers in splendour and unfading bloom,
Brighter than moonlight on the seething shore,
 Sweeter than roses clust'ring round the tomb,
Born of the struggle with the fatal gloom;
 A subtle gleam, fleeting 'mid tears and ruth,
A dewy prophecy of days to come,
 When one great rainbow, love, and light and truth,
 Encircle will the world with an eternal youth!

But I, behold, like to the tiny thing,
 The forest bird; I feel a magic spell,
That draws me strongly on uncertain wing
 Away from all the violet woodland smell,
To hear the words that from thy spirit well:
 Enchained, entranced, oh! let me list, while flame
And dazzling light in billows round me swell;
 Then flying back to shades from whence I came
 I will heroic deeds, prophetic words, proclaim.