Poems (Hardy)/To a friend, with a volume of Lowell's poems
TO A FRIEND, WITH A VOLUME OF LOWELL'S POEMS
F. C. T.
A YELLOW sapphire set in frosted gold,
A charm of purple sardius subtly chased,
A silken scarf with golden broideries traced,
A blood-red rose, a bud of rarer mould,
A poet's book with untold tales out-told,—
Which shall it be? With heart's warm wisdom graced
This milestone on your highway newly placed
Your friend would mark in fashion sweet and old.
And so what this gift can will let it say,
As trusting its interpreter to find
Remembering moments as he goes the way
This book shall lead him, when his gladdened mind
But faintly conscious of a thought's delay,
May feel, "Thine, too, the impulse of this day."
A charm of purple sardius subtly chased,
A silken scarf with golden broideries traced,
A blood-red rose, a bud of rarer mould,
A poet's book with untold tales out-told,—
Which shall it be? With heart's warm wisdom graced
This milestone on your highway newly placed
Your friend would mark in fashion sweet and old.
And so what this gift can will let it say,
As trusting its interpreter to find
Remembering moments as he goes the way
This book shall lead him, when his gladdened mind
But faintly conscious of a thought's delay,
May feel, "Thine, too, the impulse of this day."