Contents -BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867.

V. Her Exemption from the Common Aspects of Decay

Frederick Tennyson (1807–1898)

O HEART of grace, that, like the lowly flowers,

Bendest beneath the storms, but dost not break,

Whom in thy tears kind thoughts do not forsake,

As blessed odors live in thunder-showers;

Whether the sun shines forth, or tempest lowers,

Thou art unshaken. In thine utmost need,

While iron pride is shattered like a reed,

Thy wingéd hopes fly onward with the hours.

Therefore thine eye through mist of many days

Shines bright; and beauty, like a lingering rose,

Sits on thy cheek, and in thy laughter plays,

While wintry frosts have fallen on thy foes;

And like a vale that breathes the western sky,

Thy heart is green, though summer is gone by.