Did you ever behold a face so radiant it inspired an overflow of poetic sentiment? I did once and was compelled to jot down this little composition in a notebook. It seems rather melancholic, I suppose, but it is meant to convey the dramatic effect that beauty imposes on the human heart. Beauty has a peculiar way of causing man to overflow with delight in this life, while at the same time leaving him with an insatiable desire for the consuming fire of love that is to be had in the next life.
The Face of A Beloved
Oh how its beams so fierce and bright
Pierce my quiv’ring breast
When I behold this lovely sight
The face that I love best.
I wonder at this odd event
When pain and love are wed
For each delightful sentiment
Hits like a ball of lead.
What is this pain that is so sweet?
How funny is the thought
The pain my heart does dread to meet
By tender love is sought.
I’ve spent my days avoiding pain
I’ve shirked from every sadness
But now my heart has known a strain
Which tortures me with gladness!
So now I seek this awful dart,
Each day I catch your eye
To feel the love within my heart
Which makes me want to die.
C. C. Bennett
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