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Songs of the Affections, 1840, Page 269
TO GIULIO REGONDI,
THE BOY GUITARIST.
Blessing and love be round thee still, fair boy!
Never may suffering wake a deeper tone,
Than genius now, in its first fearless joy,
Calls forth exulting from the chords which own
Thy fairy touch! Oh! may'st thou ne'er be taught
The power whose fountain is in troubled thought!
For in the light of those confiding eyes,
And on the ingenuous calm of that clear brow,
A dower, more precious e'en than genius lies,
A pure mind's worth, a warm heart's vernal glow!
God, who hath graced thee thus, oh, gentle child,
Keep 'midst the world thy brightness undefiled!
