TO AMANDA .

Woman in all things yields to man, except in the highest;
There the strongest man is of a woman the slave.
And what is the highest? A radiant halo of glory,
Such as, Amanda, compels from thine immaculate brow.
When the mist floats over the orb, his splendour obscuring,
Fairer appears the scene drawn in the shimmering air.
Is man free? Thou art! Thine indispensable freedom
No hesitation knows, never necessity heeds.
What thou givest is ever a whole ; complete thou art always,
And thy gentlest chord is thine harmonious whole.
Here is eternal youth in never exhausted abundance,
And thou pluckest at once flower and harvest alike.