THE RED LOTUS.

        1.    Lotus, tender flower

            Of the crystal wave,

            Whence thy magic power,

            Say, for thou dost save

        Anon from chilling thoughts dark Sorrow's wretched slave,

 

        2.    Young when Phoebus rises

            Through the misty veil,

            Under his flaming kisses

            Thou dost blush and smile,

        Like an approving queen with passion trembling frail.

 

        3.    Yet how coy and distant

            To the languid moon,

            Whose bloodless beams extend

        But thwarted by thy shrunken frown do pining swoon!

 

        4.    On the green and diamond

            Paving soft thy floor,

            Dance thou spirit Jocund,

            Laughing evermore,

        Dance, dance and laugh, for pain did never reach thy shore.

 

        5.    Like a naiad lovely

            With her sister nymphs,

            All the day full gaily

            To celestial hymns,

        Still dancing stately measured unwearied in her limbs!

 

        6.    As thy breath delicious

            Overflows the air,

            Heavenward rising wishes

            Free from guilt or care,

        Inspire the soul till it sparkles as thy waters clear.

 

        7.    Sweet as is thy fragrance,

            Holy, deep, serene,

            Never sensuous joyance,

            Wild and gross and keen

        Thy pious petals breathe; for godly is thy mien.

 

        8.    Like a saintly maiden

            Clothed in purest thought,

            Whom passions never madden

            With vexations fraught,

        Thy sister white communes with Heaven that reigns the peace she sought;

 

        9.    Like a chaste-eyed star

            Of the clear azure,

            Sending from afar

            Her tranquil beams and pure,

        When clouds like evil thoughts do not her orb obscure.

 

        10.    Nature's heart unfolded

            Shedding love and bliss,

            Till the world be moulded

            Into one soul of peace,

        Where tenderness doth flow, and furies never hiss.

        

        11.    Sounds of war or strife,

            Shaking souls that bloom

            On the waste of life,

            Do not yell their boom

        To mar the sacred calm that reigns within thy home.

 

        12.    Music sweet unearthly

            From thy presence rains,

            Heard by mortals hardly

            But when their spirit reigns

        In ecstasy upraised from lulled corporeal trains

A. S.