TAKE BACK THE VIRGIN PAGE.
Written on returning a Blank Book.
I.
Take back the virgin page,
White and unwritten still;
Some hand, more calm and sage,
The leaf must fill.
Thoughts come, as pure as light,
Pure as even you require;
But oh! each word I write
Love turns to fire.
II.
Yet let me keep the book;
Oft shall my heart renew,
When on its leaves I look,
Dear thoughts of you!
Like you, 'tis fair and bright;
Like you, too bright and fair
To let wild passion write
One wrong wish there!
III.
Haply, when from those eyes
Far, far away I roam,
Should calmer thoughts arise
Tow'rds you and home;
Fancy may trace some line,
Worthy those eyes to meet;
Thoughts that not burn, but shine
Pure, calm and sweet!
IV.
And, as the records are,
Which wandering seamen keep,
Led by their hidden star
Through the cold deep;
So may the words I write
Tell thro' what storms I stray,
You still the unseen light,
Guiding my way!
This work was published before January 1, 1925, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.