In the Garden of Girls

Serious, but smiling, stately and serene,
And lovelier than a flower,
She stands; in whom all sympathies convene
As perfumes in a bower;
Through whom I feel what soul and heart must mean,
And all their love and power.

Eyes, that commune with the frank skies of truth,
Beneath their cloud-like curls;
Lips of immortal rose, where joy and youth
Nestle like priceless pearls;
Hair, that suggests the Bible braids of Ruth,
Deeper than any girl’s.

When first I saw her, ’t was as if within
My gaze took shape some song--
Played by a master of the violin--
A music, pure and strong,
That rapt my soul above all earthly sin
To heights that know no wrong.