Part 2 — THREE SHADOWS

I looked and saw your eyes in the shadow of your hair, As a traveler sees the stream in the shadow of the wood;— And I said, "My faint heart sighs, ah me! to linger there, To drink deep and to dream in that sweet solitude."

I looked and saw your heart in the shadow of your eyes, As a seeker sees the gold in the shadow of the stream; And I said, Ah, me! what art should win the immortal prize, Whose want must make life cold and Heaven a hollow dream?"

I looked and saw your love in the shadow of your heart, As a diver sees the pearl in the shadow of the sea; And I murmured, not above my breath, but all apart,— "Ah! you can love, true girl, and is your love for me?"

Dante Gabriel Rossetti [1828-1882]