George Henry Boker Poems

Fairest of all the fair ones I have seen,
Fairest of all, in feature not alone,
Nor form, nor grace, nor glance, nor voice's tone,
...

Darling, I kiss thee from thy slender feet
Up to the curls around thy tender brow;
Each fervent kiss upon thee prints a vow,
...

This was my lady's birthday, and yet I
At dawn heard not the cannon's brazen throat,
Nor saw the fluttering standards give the note
...

How shall I sing of thee, thyself who art
A song of God's own making--perfect thought,
Pearl-pure, unmatched, which the great poet wrought
...

I touched the limit of supremest bliss,
Knew joy's whole secret on this golden day;
When in my arms my panting darling lay,
...

When distance severs us, and we become
As parting voyagers of divided lives,
In whom no common interest survives,
...

For what to me were Helen's honeyed word,
Or guiltless Iphigenia's sacred charms;
Or Cleopatra's lustrous breast and arms,
...

When men distrust me, not because they find
Baseness in me, but basely they mistake
The native sins, which in their natures wake,
...

This fellow calls me sordid, that one poor--
Poorer in spirit than in purse, perchance;
Another's humid eyeballs shine and dance
...

Speed on thy solemn pilgrimage, O Earth;
And count thy rosary of golden days
Before thy Maker's feet in prayerful praise
...