Dew-Angel, The

Born between a smile and tear,
I am daughter of the clear
Half illumined atmosphere.
     Zephys rocks me on the swing
     Oh her slowly-waing wing,
     And her coolest kiss I bring!
All the day I am unseen,
Floating in the blue serene,
Newer ghost so thin I ween!
     But I don my pale cymar
     When the Sun-god’s golden ear
     Sinks below the evening star.
Then I walk the earth, instead,
And the faint herb lifts her head,
Glad to meet my buoyant tread.
     Every slender leaf and stem
     Snatching at my garment’s hem,
     Wins from it a glittering gem.
O ye blossom-nymphs and fays,
And all moonlight elves, who arise
Flowers to crown our summer days
     Teach your bonny fairies to know
     How I bless them e’er I go!
     Aye, they breathe it as they grow!
          And there is no minion fay
          Dwelling by the lovely way,
          But I make his tentings gay!
Sylphids of the grassy meads,
Brightly all your bannered reeds
Glitter with my diamond beads!
     While the spider lies so deep
     In his silken tent asleep,
     Silent as a thought I creep.
And along his slender lines
String a rosary that shines
Like the treasure of the mines!
     Ha, my darling Pimpernel,
     Though you lock your scarlet cell,
     I can glide into it well!
Thank me, little Violet
For the jewels I have set
In your purple carcanet.
     Lily, mid the summer heats,
     Sweetest of your breathing sweets
     I have fed in cool retreats.
From my beaker, as you sip
Bonny Rose, a sparkling drip
Vivifies your ruddy lip.
     Lovers in the merry glade!
     See, around your double shade
     The twin halo I have made!
          Tis the symbol of that Love
          That comes noiseless from above,
          Crowning with the light thereof
You, and all the living things—
Rooted clues or flowers on wings,—
To whom life my duty brings;
     These, wit you and me, shall bear
     Honor to the boundless care
     That sheds love-dew everywhere!