Etchings in Verse (Underhill)/Denise

by Andrew Findlay Underhill

DENISE.

GRAY eyes from which the light falls soft and fair;Clear brows, and heavy mass of dead brown hair; Lips red, and firm, and true; and cheeks whose glowShows faintly flushed; a soft, full throat, and rare Smooth shoulders; and the bosom's wealth below,Like sculptured marble with the life-hue there—Are thine, Denise.

A mind to comprehend the good and great,With honest tact, and power to create;  A noble nature, and a soul of truth—Direct—but feminine in every trait; The sunshine, and the passion-power of youth;The thoughtfulness of woman's high estate—Are thine, Denise.

*****

My heart, and all that ever can be mine;My life, my hopes—whatever is divine Within my nature; and whate'er demandsA higher something, and a loftier shrine— Yea; and the love that waits till death, and standsUnchanging where the gates of Heaven shineAre thine, Denise.