Poems (Hooper)/I and Thou

by Lucy Hamilton Hooper

I AND THOU.

Ich bin die Rose auf der Au'.

I am a rose, that in the field Breathes to the breeze perfume;O love, thou art the cooling dew That wakes me unto bloom!

I am the jewel darkly hid In gloomy mines below;Thou art the sunbeam in whose light My varied colors glow.

I am the crystal goblet whence A monarch drinks his wine;Thou art the sweet empurpled wave Whose splendors through me shine.

I am the gloomy thunder-cloud That sweeps across the skies;Thou art the shining rainbow, love, That on my bosom lies.

I am the Memnon, dumb and dead, The desert sands among;Thou art the crimson light of day That wakes my breast to song.

I am an erring man that gropes Amid bewildering night;Thou art an angel sent from God To lead me to the light.Geibel.