Beloved! amid the earnest woes
⁠That crowd around my earthly path—
(Drear path, alas! where grows
Not even one lonely rose)—
⁠My soul at least a solace hath
In dreams of thee, and therein knows
An Eden of bland repose.

And thus thy memory is to me
⁠Like some enchanted far-off isle
In some tumultuous sea—
Some ocean throbbing far and free
⁠With storms—but where meanwhile
Serenest skies continually
⁠Just o’er that one bright island smile.

Originally posted 2018-07-11 10:02:38.