Stedman and Hutchinson, comps. A Library of American Literature:
An Anthology in Eleven Volumes. 1891.
Vols. IX–XI: Literature of the Republic, Part IV., 1861–1889
A Sunset Fantasie
By George Arnold (1834–1865)W
And sweeping shadows solemnly lie
On its mottled surface of azure and gray,
And the night-winds sigh,—
Come, O Léonore, brown-eyed one,
To the cloudy realms of the setting sun!
Where crimson crag, and silvery steep,
And amaranth rift, and purple deep,
Look dimly soft, as the sunset pales,
Like the shadowy cities of ancient tales.
To her lover, when all the orient air
Was laden with echoes of dreamy song,
And the plash of oars, and perfumes rare,
So will we float
In a golden boat,
On velvet cushions soft and wide;
I and my love, the onyx-eyed,
Will watch the twilight radiance fail,—
Cheek by cheek and side by side,—
And our mingled breath, O Léonore,
Shall fan the silken sail,
To the shining line of that faëry strand
Where sky is water and cloud is land,—
The wonderful sunset shore!
The lofty glacier-peaks between,
Through the purple haze of the twilight air,
The tremulous glow of a star is seen.
There let us dwell, O Léonore,
Free from the griefs that haunt us here,
Knowing nor frown, nor sigh, nor tear:
There let us bide forevermore,
Happy for aye in the sunset sphere!
Behold, a glittering chasm gleams!
O, let us cross the heaving bay,
To that land of love and dreams!
There would I lie, in a misty bower,
Tasting the nectar of thy lip,
Sweet as the honeyed dews that drip
From the budding lotos-flower!
Dip the oar and spread the sail
For shining peak and shadowy vale!
Fill, O sail, and plash, O oar,
For the wonderful sunset shore!