To Charlotte Cushman
Look where a three-point star shall weave his beam Into the slumb’rous tissue of some stream, Till his bright self o’er his bright copy seem Fulfillment dropping on a come-true dream; So in this night of art thy soul doth show Her excellent double in the steadfast flow Of wishing love that through men’s hearts doth go: At once thou shin’st above and shin’st below. E’en when thou strivest there within Art’s sky (Each star must o’er a strenuous orbit fly), Full calm thine image in our love doth lie, A Motion glassed in a Tranquillity. So triple-rayed, thou mov’st, yet stay’st, serene -- Art’s artist, Love’s dear woman, Fame’s good queen!
Sidney Lanier’s other poems:
885
