My soul; is raying like a star,
My heart is happier than a bird,
And all because, through fortune’s jar,
I hear one little word.
I feel as if all life and might
Had started on a loftier course,
As if all passion and delight
Were deepened at the source.

I feel as if the very air
Was breathed from out the heart of love,
And in my heart, still rapture rare,
Sat brooding like a dove.

O beauty! Even through a word
What powers are thine to raise and bless!
O love! A seraph’s voice is heard
In thy confiding Yes!

Love is God’s messenger divine,
And nature, tending up to God,
Shall breathe His clear air pure and fine
Whatever love hath trod.



More verses by Charles Harpur