Written in a Copy of Lalla Rookh, Presented to —

Originally published in The Keepsake for 1828 (Hurst, Chance, and Co.; Nov 1827).

                With wishes fond, and vows that burn,
                        I bless the gift I send to thee;
                The happy leaves thy hand shall turn,
                        The happy lines thine eyes shall see:
                Each little gift is as a link,
                        More closely sever'd hearts to bind;
                And this may lead thy soul to think
                        Of him that it hath left behind.

                Oh! when thou dwell'st upon the page,
                        To chase away some idle hour,
                And thoughts of love and truth engage,
                        Express'd with all the poet's power;
                While round thee fairy fiction weaves
                        The veil, oh! spare one thought to me;
                Think that my spirit, 'mid the leaves,
                        Breathes through the poet's words to thee!