Poem by Richard Watson Gilder

The New Day. Part 4. 5. All in One

Once when a maiden maidenly went by,
⁠     Or when I found some wonder in the grass,
⁠     Or when a purple sunset slow did pass,
     ⁠Or a great star rushed silent through the sky;
Once when I heard a singing ecstasy,
⁠     Or saw the moon's face in the river's glass—
     ⁠Then I remembered that for me, alas!
     ⁠This beauty must for ever and ever die.
But now I may thus sorrow never more;
⁠     From fleeting beauty thou hast torn the pall;
⁠     Of beauty, Love, thou art the soul and core;
And tho' the empty shadow fading fall,—
     ⁠Tho' lesser birds lift up their wings and soar,—
     ⁠In having thee alone, Love, I have all. 

1. The New Day. Part 4. 17. “He Knows Not the Path of Duty”
2. The Celestial Passion. Part 2. 4. Cost
3. The New Day. Part 3. 12. Denial
4. The New Day. Part 3. 19. Thistle-Down
5. The New Day. Part 2. Interlude

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