Classic Poem

I said, when first I saw you: " She shall be
The quiet undercurrent of my dream;
No one shall know, for I'll the secret deem
Too beautiful for telling; and in me
There'll grow, like early blooms by sounding sea,
A scented glory. Each ennobling thought
Shall bear her image, and the love thus wrought,
Though unconfessed, shall make her bound — yet free. "

I said; and with this secret in my heart
I walked content. But you who were so far
Beyond my reach — you came and bid me speak!
That moment broke the magic, flung apart
The golden grains of love, and dimmed that star
Whose splendour nightly hailed I no more seek.