Sonnet Xviii: Poem by George Henry Boker

O heart, be not bewildered with delight!
Calm the wild senses, still the dizzy brain,
Abate the fire that burns in every vein
Of my roused nature; lest my dazzled sight
Shrink into blindness with excess too bright
For mortal vision! Let me catch again
From mirrored memory, the wondrous train
Of joys that passed before my eyes tonight.
Let me recall the smile, the murmured tone
That brought me to her, and the separate bliss
That fell from every word;--the hair out-blown--
The starry eyes that glimmered under this,
And poured celestial blessing on my own--
The lingering hand--alas! the parting kiss!