Poems (Osgood)/Leonor

by Frances Sargent Osgood

LEONOR.

Leonor loved a noble youth,
But light was Leonor's maiden truth;
She left her love for wealth forsooth.
            Faithless Leonor!

Now she paces a palace-hall;
Lords and ladies await her ca!l,—
Wearily Leonor turns from all.
            Haughty Leonor!

Leonor lies on a couch of down;
The jewel-light of a ducal crown
Gleams through her tresses of sunlit brown.
            Beautiful Leonor

Leonor's robe is a tissue of gold,
Flashing with splendor in every fold;
Bracelets of gems on her arms are roll'd.
            Radiant Leonor!

Diamonds sparkle in Leonor's zone,
With a star-like glory in every stone;
But the heart they smile over is cold and lone.
            Joyless Leonor!

To be free once more she would give them all,—
The crown, the couch, and the sculptured hall,
And the robe with its rich and shining fall.
            Poor, poor Leonor!

Like a captive bird, through her cage's bar
Of gold, she looks on her home afar,
And it woos her there like a holy star.
            Vainly, Leonor

Leonor's lip has lost its bloom,
Her proud blue eyes are dark with gloom;
She will sleep in peace in her early tomb.
            Lonely Leonor!