Classic Poem

ON A LOCK OF HAIR .

Thou precious Ringlet! all that now is mine
Of one so dearly loved! that oft hast blessed
With soft and soothing thoughts my anxious breast!
Once more I ope with trembling hands the shrine
In which fond care hath guarded thee. Still shine
Thy dark brown tints; time has not dispossessed
The soft hairs of their gloss....Oh, oft caressed!
Oh, dear memorial of that form divine!
Thou, 'midst the pangs of absence, canst impart
Soft-whispering hopes, lull with a flattering dream
The wild emotions of my throbbing heart,
And calm away each passion's rude extreme;
And, led by thee, my rapt thoughts fondly stray
With her from whom I wander far away.