Nor for thy fingers precious, fabled rings

That cardinals have worn, and queens have bought

With blood and beauty. I have only sought

A song that hovers on illusive wings.

Accept from me a dream that hath no art,

I give my empty hands for thee to hold,

Take thou the gift of silence for my part,

With all the deeper things I have not told.

Yet if thou canst, decipher in my heart

Its passions writ in hieroglyphs of gold.