The Ring of Amethyst

Chapter 51: WITH A CRYSTAL LION. For L. R. W.

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About This Book

A collection of lyric poems that moves between intimate reflections on love, longing, and domestic feeling and wider meditations on faith, doubt, memory, and artistic purpose. Short, varied pieces contrast joy and pain, sometimes adopting persona or dedicatory addresses and sometimes using nature and classical imagery to frame emotional states. The overall tone balances tender sincerity with contemplative restraint, turning commonplace moments and moral concerns into compact, image-driven meditations on the inner life.

WITH A CRYSTAL LION.
For L. R. W.

Keep watch and ward,

In stately guard,

Around my Una’s wayward feet;

Not lest she tread

False ways instead

Of higher paths, serenely sweet;—

But lest in care

For all who share

Her tender ministry, too late

Her frail strength yield;—

Be thou her shield;

They also serve who sometimes wait!

Of crystal, clear

As in its sphere

Her lofty spirit moves alway;—

Of massive strength

As all at length

Will find who make her soul their stay;—

With flowers and buds

Whose sweetness floods

The air even when we cannot see;—

This gift I send

My earliest friend;—

Dear type of all she is to me!