The Visionary
Letitia Elizabeth Landon 1802 (Chelsea) – 1838 (Cape Coast)
I Pray thee do not speak to me
As you are speaking now,
It brings the colour to my check,
The shadow to my brow.
I pray thee do not look at me,
I cannot bear that gaze ;
Though downcast be my eye, it still
Too much my heart betrays.
I feel the past is written there,
The past, long since gone by—
The past, where feelings, fancies, hopes,
Alike unburied lie ;
Unburied, for their restless ghosts
Still haunt the sad domain,
And mockeries of their former selves,
Come thronging back again.
But changed as I and thou art changed,
Or rather me alone,
I never had your heart—but mine,
Alas ! was all your own.
O, magic of a tone and word,
Loved all too long and well,
I cannot close my heart and ear
Against their faithless spell—
I know them false, I know them vain,
And yet I listen on—
And say them to myself again,
Long after thou art gone.
I make myself my own deceit,
I know it is a dream,
But one that from my earliest youth
Has coloured life’s deep stream ;
Frail colours flung in vain, but yet
A thousand times more dear
Than any actual happiness
That ever brightened here.
The dear, the long, the dreaming hours
That I have past with thee,
When thou hadst not a single thought
Of how thou wert with me—
I heard thy voice—I spoke again—
I gazed upon thy face,
And never scene of breathing life
Could leave a deeper trace,
Than all that fancy conjured up,
And made thee look and say,
Till I have loathed reality,
That chased such dream away.
Now, out upon this foolishness,
Thy heart it is not mine ;
And, knowing this, how can I waste
My very soul on thine ?
Alas ! I have no power to choose,
Love is not at my will ;
I say I must be careless, cold,
But find I love thee still.
I think upon my wasted life,
And on my wasted heart,
And turn, ashamed and sorrowful,
From what will not depart.
Thy haunting influence, how it mocks
My efforts to forget !
The stamp love only seals but once
Upon my life is set.
I hear from others gentle words,
I scarcely heed the while ;
Listened to, but with weariness,
Forgotten with a smile.
But thine, though chance and usual words
Are treasured, as we keep
Things lovely, precious, and beloved,
O’er which we watch and weep.
I scarcely wish to see thee now,
It is too dear a joy :
It is such perfect happiness,
It must have some alloy.
I dream of no return from thee—
Enough for me to love ;
I brood above my silent heart,
As o’er its nest the dove.
But speak not, look not, mock me not,
With light and careless words ;
It wounds me to the heart, it jars
My spirit’s finest chords.
I’ll not forget thee ;—let me dream
About thee as before.
But, farewell, dearest ; yes, farewell,
For we must meet no more.
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Submitted by Madeleine Quinn on September 27, 2016
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:31 min read
- 57 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABXB ACDC XEXE XFXG XHIH XJKJ FXGX XLXL MXNK XAXA GOPO XQAQ NIXI XDXD PRXR XMXM STNT SUXU BVNV AWRW XSXX LXJX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,896 |
Words | 506 |
Stanzas | 22 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"The Visionary" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/45178/the-visionary>.
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