In the Dark

Restless, to-night, and ill at ease,   And finding every place too strait, I leave the porch shut in with trees,   And wander through the garden-gate. So dark at first, I have to feel   My way before me with my hands; But soul-like fragrances reveal   My virgin Daphne, where she stands. Her stars of blossom breathe aloft   Her worship to the stars above; In wavering pulsations soft,   Climbs the sweet incense of her love; Those far, celestial eyes can dart   Their glances down through leafy bars; The spark that burns within her heart   Was dropped, in answer, from the stars. She does not find the space too small,   The night too dark, for sweetest bloom; Content within the garden wall,   Since upward there is always room. Her spotless heart, through all the night,   Holds safe its little vestal spark. O blessed, if the soul be white,   To breathe and blossom in the dark!