< Page:Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1900.djvu
This page needs to be proofread.

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

'Myself will to my darling be

Both law and impulse : and with me

The girl, in rock and plain, In earth and heaven, in glade and bower, Shall feel an overseeing power

To kindle or restrain.

4 She shall be sportive as the fawn That wild with glee across the lawn

Or up the mountain springs ; And hers shall be the breathing bairn, And hers the silence and the calm

Of mute insensate things.

  • The floating clouds their state shall lend

To her ; for her the willow bend ;

Nor shall she fail to see Even in the motions of the storm Grace that shall mould the maiden's form

By silent sympathy.

  • The stars of midnight shall be dear

To her ; and she shall lean her ear

In many a secret place Where rivulets dance their wayward round, And beauty born of murmuring sound

Shall pass into her face.

  • And vital feelings of delight

Shall rear her form to stately height,

Her virgin bosom swell ; Such thoughts to Lucy I will give While she and I together live

Here in this happy dell/

�� �

    This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.