TO ****
By Ralph Waldo Emerson

O fair and stately maid, whose eye
Was kindled in the upper sky
At the same torch that lighted mine;
For so I must interpret still
Thy sweet dominion o'er my will,
A sympathy divine.

Ah! let me blameless gaze upon
Features that seem in heart my own,
Nor fear those watchful sentinels
Which charm the more their glance forbids,
Chaste-glowing underneath their lids
With fire that draws while it repels.


A Note on the Text:

  • 1st published in The Dial (July 1840) p. 84.

  • Source: The Dial (July 1840) p. 84.

  • Report errors to the Curator of Collections


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