"Of Her I Love" by John Rollin Ridge
I glanced at the charm of her snowy-white hand;
I caught but the glimpse of her cheek's blushing dyes
More sweet than the fruits of a tropical land;
I marked but an instant her coral-hued lips,
And the row of sweet pearls that glimmered between—
Those lips, like the roses the humming bird sips
On his bright wing of rainbows, when summer is green.
I timidly gazed on a bosom more white
Than the breast of the swan, more soft than its down—
To rest on whose pillows were greater delight
Than all else of rapture that heaven may own.
I gazed but a second on these, and on all
That make up the sum of her angel-like form,
And ere I could think I was bound in her thrall,
And peace fled my breast, as the birds flee a storm!
I am bound in love's pain, and may never be free,
Till the bond is dissolved in her own melting kiss:
Till her loveliness, like the embrace of a sea,
Enclasps and hides me in the depths of its bliss.