Fugitive Poetry. 1600–1878/Canzonet

Canzonet.

i.
Love dwells not in the sparkling blaze,
When noon rests on the stream;
His tender flowerets dare not raise
Their bosoms to the beam:
When gleams the moon through latticed bowers,
And stars are shining bright,
He communes with the shadowy hours,
And wooes the silent night.

ii.
The dreamy perfume of the rose,
The violet's deeper sigh,
The music of the rill, that flows
In liquid cadence by;
The sweet tones of some village chime
On sweeter echoes borne,—
These, these are joys of evening time,
Which scarcely wait the morn!

iii.
Not in the rich and courtly hall
The heart's pure faith is given;
But where the greenwood shadows fall
Beneath a twilight heaven.
Life's crowded pomp and pageant show
May darker passions move,
But solitude alone can know
The incense-thoughts of love.

iv.
When worldly cares are hushed in sleep,
Love wakes at such an hour,
Young hopes their angel vigils keep,
And joy resumes its power:
Though night, in all its dusky state,
Athwart the skies be thrown;
Yet Beauty's glance can then create
A noontide all her own!