James Henry Leigh Hunt (1784-1859). V. On a Lock of Milton's Hair. Hunt and Lee, comps. 1867. The Book of the Sonnet

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

V. On a Lock of Milton’s Hair

By James Henry Leigh Hunt (1784–1859)


IT lies before me there, and my own breath
Stirs its thin outer threads, as though beside
The living head I stood in honored pride,
Talking of lovely things that conquer death.
Perhaps he pressed it once, or underneath	5
Ran his fine fingers, when he leant, blank-eyed,
And saw, in fancy, Adam and his bride
With their rich locks, or his own Delphic wreath.
There seems a love in hair, though it be dead.
It is the gentlest, yet the strongest thread	10
Of our frail plant,—a blossom from the tree
Surviving the proud trunk;—as though it said,
Patience and Gentleness is Power. In me
Behold affectionate eternity.