Lover's dream, lover's dim

Where all else is dark and cold;

The sun and stars have left the skies:

There is one moon, which looks out, as bright,

As a lamp of night: there is no star

Which seems so great, or that it has eyes;

If any light shines through this glass

To show us the face of daygrass,

It shows not a face of hate, but love.

And if some power of heaven can give

Some beauty to this earth,

And make it brighter with our breath,

That beauty would be worth more than gold;

We should not look on earth with such disdain

As when we think we see another man.

For in his presence there are flowers

And leaves of green, fresh and fair.

In him all nature rejoices:

Nature loves him, Nature loves him well,

Her bosom is filled with tender things

By love, and by his name.

He has a voice sweet like the sound

Of birds upon the wing; he plays

And sings: he hath a gentle word

That makes all joyous; his voice is soft,

Like music; and he brings gladness

To all around him; and all men

Have reason for their joyance.

He is fair to sight: he is fairest

Of all those living things that breathe;

The roses, the violets, and the lilies

Are all fair, and seem as if they came

From his own hand; even thorns and thistles

Are full of love; the yellow dog

Is fond of him, and prances round his feet.

His steps are soft as summer breeze

Softly they wander on the meads;

On them the butterflies dance and sing;

They have sweet, melodious voices too.

But when the moon is shining brightly

Through her clear, cloudless atmosphere,

With a gentle motion she fills

The heavens with her pure, pale radiance;

Thus, when he speaks in words most sweet,

She smiles on him. And thus do I love him:

My heart beats fast when I behold his face;

I feel my blood run hot; my cheek

Stems up with sudden blushes; a flame

Burns in my breast; I am full of fire

When I think of him!

O Love! O Beauty! O Divine One!

Whose very thought is life to me!

Who doth possess a spirit free;

Whose love is all that makes a soul

Full of happiness and grace:

Thou art the Lord, my God: thou hast given birth

To all the world!

And if thou dost delight thyself

Within the depths of my soul

While I hold out my hands towards thee,

Thy goodness shall be seen in mine eyes

For evermore.

And if thou lovest me, as I love thee

And feel that I shall never cease

Until I perish; then I die

Because I live within thee, and thou

Live within me. This must I prove

Till I can find a better way

To live without the pain of death.

This faith which we profess

Must keep us from a world that burns

With hate and rage, and cries aloud;

Which sees that which it cannot take away.

It needs not to know what we do.

For we are angels, and we know

What we do not understand.

And therefore we will not tell

Our secret thoughts to mortal men.