Arthur Quiller-Couch, comp. The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse. 1922.
Absent Yet PresentLord Edward Bulwer-Lytton (18031873)
A
That flows to the sea
My soul rushes ever
In tumult to thee.
I am where thou art;
My heart in the distance
Beats close to thy heart.
I gaze on thy face;
I see thee, I hear thee,
I feel thine embrace.
The steel it draws to it,
Is the charm of thy soul on
The thoughts that pursue it.
The eyes that I miss,
And custom but heightens
The spell of thy kiss.
Though that may be owed,—
It is not from beauty,
Though that be bestow’d;
And all that I know,
Is that, without wherefore,
I worship thee so.
A tree to the ray;
As a dreamer forsaketh
The grief of the day,
Escapes unto thee;
O dream to the griever!
O light to the tree!
I am where thou art;
Hark, hear in the distance
The beat of my heart!