THOU WERT THE RAINBOW OF MY DREAMS.

Thou wert the rainbow of my dreams,

To whom the eyes of Hope might turn,

And bid her sacred flame arise

Like incense from the festal urn;

But as the thunder clouds conspire

To wreck the lovely summer sky,

So Death destroyed the liquid fire

Which shone so brightly in thine eye!

The cypress weeps upon thy tomb:

But when the stars unfold their leaves

Amid their bow'rs of purple gloom,

More fervently my spirit grieves;

And as the rainbow sheds its light

In fairy hues upon the sea,

So this cold world appears more bright

When pensive Memory thinks of thee!