Poem by Thomas Moore

From “Irish Melodies”. 15. Take Back the Virgin Page

      Written on Returning a Blank Book

          TAKE back the virgin page,
                White and unwritten still;
          Some hand, more calm and sage,
                The leaf must fill.
          Thoughts come, as pure as light
                Pure as even you require;
          But, oh! each word I write
                Love turns to fire.

          Yet let me keep the book:
                Oft shall my heart renew,
          When on its leaves I look,
                Dear thoughts of you.
          Like you, ’tis fair and bright;
                Like you, too bright and fair
          To let wild passion write
                One wrong wish there.

          Haply, when from those eyes
                Far, far away I roam,
          Should calmer thoughts arise
                Towards you and home;
          Fancy may trace some line,
                Worthy those eyes to meet,
          Thoughts that not burn, but shine,
                Pure, calm, and sweet.

          And as, o’er ocean far,
                Seamen their records keep,
          Led by some hidden star
                Through the cold deep;
          So may the words I write
                Tell through what storms I stray —
          You still the unseen light,
                Guiding my way.

1. From “The Odes of Anacreon”. Ode 52
2. From “The Odes of Anacreon”. Ode 38
3. From “The Odes of Anacreon”. Ode 54
4. From “The Odes of Anacreon”. Ode 56
5. From “The Odes of Anacreon”. Ode 17

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