“I knew by the smoke that so gracefully curled”
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!”
Source: Bartleby.com (archived copy)