| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | III. “Beloved! in the noisy city here” | | By James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) |
| | | BELOVED! in the noisy city here | |
| The thought of thee can make all turmoil cease; | |
| Around my spirit, folds thy spirit clear | |
| Its still, soft arms, and circles it with peace: | |
| There is no room for any doubt or fear | 5 |
| In souls so overfilled with love’s increase; | |
| There is no memory of the by-gone year, | |
| But growth in heart’s and spirit’s perfect ease. | |
| How hath our love—half nebulous at first— | |
| Rounded itself into a full-orbed sun! | 10 |
| How have our lives and wills (as haply erst | |
| They were, ere this forgetfulness begun) | |
| Through all their earthly distantness outburst, | |
| And melted, like two rays of light, in one! | | | | |
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