Lewis Carroll

Three Sunsets and Other Poems Lewis Carroll

He saw her once, and in the glance, A moment's glance of meeting eyes, His heart stood still in sudden trance: He trembled with a sweet surprise- All in the waning light she stood, The star of perfect womanhood. That summer-eve his heart was light: With lighter step he trod the ground: And life was fairer in his sight, And music was in every sound: He blessed the world where there could be So beautiful a thing as she. There once again, as evening fell And stars were peering overhead, Two lovers met to bid farewell: The western sun gleamed faint and red, Lost in a drift of purple cloud That wrapped him like a funeral-shroud. Long time the memory of that night- The hand that clasped, the lips that kissed, The form that faded from his sight Slow sinking through the tearful mist- In dreamy music seemed to roll Through the dark chambers of his soul. So after many years he came A wanderer from a distant shore: The street, the house, were still the same, But those he sought were there no more: His burning words, his hopes and fears, Unheeded fell on alien ears.