First Lines of Letitia Elizabeth Landon
A gray cross stands beneath yon old beech tree;A light is gone from yonder sky,A luxury of summer greenA nameless grave, -- there is no stoneAnd the muffled drum rolled on the air,Another Day -- Another Day --Away, away! your care is vain;Ay, gaze upon her rose-wreathed hair,Can you forget me? -- I who have so cherishedCome back, come back, my childhood,Do you see yon vessel riding,Fair lake, thy lovely and thy haunted shoreHe sleeps -- the night wind o'er the battle-fieldHe stood by the river's side,How actual, through the lapse of years,I left my home; -- 'twas in a little valeI took the scroll: I could not brook,It is a gem which hath the power to showIt is the last survivor of a raceLay by the harp, sing not that song,Love may be increased by fears,Nay, fling not down those faded flowers,She prest her slight hand to her brow, or painShe put him on a snow-white shroud,She sat alone beside her hearth --She shrank from all, and her silent moodThe fair ship cut the billows,The moonlight fell on the stately ship;There is a darkness on the sky,There is no change upon the air,There rests a shade above yon town,Thou beautiful new comer,Thou lovely and thou happy child,Thy features do not bear the light'Tis a wild tale -- and sad, too, as the sighViolets! -- deep-blue violets!Well, read my cheek, and watch my eye,When should lovers breathe their vows?