Behold I Saw Her Auburn Hair

Behold, I saw her auburn hair The shadows could not murmur there And like a touch of candle light It burned against an ivory white; Her skin was pale and like the moon Which hangs, an orb in phantom air, Men cannot touch but only swoon Like stars do gaze and eyes despair; But she, O! she was nature’s best No Grecian Urn Nor Nymphan face protest. Behold, I saw her sultry smile Like sunsets sometimes smile No passion sweeter than is brief Like stardrops simmer in the sea; It lingered for a longer while Like heaven on horizon’s mile When all the world is turned and there Comes twilight, furtive, bare; But she, O! she can none compare Not twilight, nor its outer airs. Behold, I saw her candid eyes Such eyes no more than stars can lie No dismal strains of slivered light Her glance then sets the world aright; As thus the world on course is turned Each star in destiny thusly burned Till lastly gleaming nova bright Like novas are those candid eyes; Thus she, O! she has eyes like stars Their gleams now haunt my captive heart. Behold! I saw her furtive lips If lips are furtive lest when kissed But kisses cannot measure there Nor time immortal beauty there; Like ribbons in the blushing sun Or roses when the dawn is done When comes the pink of daylight hours And hearts are captive to her powers Thus she, O! she so gently makes With lips more subtle graceful ways.