I KNEW she lay above me,
—Where the casement all the night
Shone, softened with a phosphor glow
—Of sympathetic light,
And that her fledgling spirit pure
—Was pluming fast for flight.

Each tendril throbbed and quickened
—As I nightly climbed apace,
And could scarce restrain the blossoms
—When, anear the destined place,
Her gentle whisper thrilled me
—Ere I gazed upon her face.

I waited, darkling, till the dawn
—Should touch me into bloom,
While all my being panted
—To outpour its first perfume,
When, lo! a paler flower than mine
—Had blossomed in the gloom!