I DREAMED I MET THEE.

I dreamed I met thee, with the glow
     Of Girlhood fresh upon thy cheek,
As when thy voice, serene and low,
     In love’s undying tones did speak;
And through my heart, and to my brain,

     Rushed life’s warm current wildly-free,
As memory brought back again
     My Boyhood’s earnest love for thee.

’Twas midst a gay and brilliant throng,
     Where dancers glided to and fro,

And where the wild, impassioned song,
     Brought to each eye love’s burning glow;
But we had strayed apart from all
     The gayer spirits that had met—
Some to enjoy the festal ball,

     Others to banish deep regret. [Page 161]

Our lips moved not, we did not seek
     By words to tell some love-lorn wile,
Secrets, which words could never speak,
     Were told by an impressive smile.

But there was language in each look,
     That could a kindred mind control,
Language the impatient could not brook—
     The silent commune of the soul.

Thus would I meet, fairest one!

     If there the power should be given
To know each other, where the Sun
     Of Love forever shines, in Heaven.
Oh! joy beyond what earth can give!
     To see thee and to know thee, where

The good in endless pleasures live—
     ’Twere heaven, indeed, if thou wert there. [Page 162]