Poems (Jones)/Leonora

by Amanda Theodosia Jones

For works with similar titles, see Leonora.

LEONORA.

I.
EONORA, Leonora!
The chill drifts of winter thy bosom encumber;
 The shrill tempest beats at the door of thy tomb:
Arise, O my love, from the silence of slumber,
 Smile forth, and the glad world in roses will bloom!
      Leonora, Leonora!
White soul of my bride, shall I lure thee in vain?
 Draw near in the light of thy snowy array;
Sweet singer, breathe softly thine olden refrain:
"Let the seasons roll on, let the moons wax and wane,
 But Love shall not perish, nor wither away."

II.
      Leonora, Leonora,
The rushing winds thrill with the voice of my pleading:
 I die with my sorrow—oh hear and awake!
See, cast at thy feet, how my torn heart is bleeding!
 Smile forth, and the morning eternal will break,
      Leonora, Leonora!
White soul of my bride, shall I lure thee in vain?
 Draw near, and the midnight will burn like the day:
Oh breathe again softly thine olden refrain:
"Let the seasons roll on, let the moons wax and wane,
 But Love shall not perish, nor wither away."

III.
      Leonora, Leonora!
In their sun-guided ways all the stars look and listen—
 What light breaks at last through the door of thy tomb?
I see thy white robes as they glimmer and glisten,
 And lo! the sweet roses have burst into bloom!
      Leonora, Leonora!
White soul of my bride, Death shall lure thee in vain,—
 His snow-drifted midnight is burning with day:
Thy lips murmur softly their olden refrain:
"Let the seasons roll on, let the moons wax and wane,
 But Love shall not perish, nor wither away."