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.