“I knew by the smoke that so gracefully curled”

Thomas Moore (1779–1852)

I KNEW by the smoke that so gracefully curled

Above the green elms, that a cottage was near,

And I said, “If there ’s peace to be found in the world,

A heart that is humble might hope for it here!”

It was noon, and on flowers that languished around

In silence reposed the voluptuous bee;

Every leaf was at rest, and I heard not a sound

But the woodpecker tapping the hollow beech-tree.

And “Here in this lone little wood,” I exclaimed,

“With a maid who was lovely to soul and to eye,

Who would blush when I praised her, and weep if I blamed,

How blest could I live, and how calm could I die!

“By the shade of yon sumach, whose red berry dips

In the gush of the fountain, how sweet to recline,

And to know that I sighed upon innocent lips,

Which had never been sighed on by any but mine!”