Page:Aurora Leigh a Poem.djvu/388

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AURORA LEIGH.
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My great Aurora.' Forward then she sprang,And dropping her impassioned spaniel headWith all its brown abandonment of curlsOn Romney's feet, we heard the kisses drawnThrough sobs upon the foot, upon the ground—'O Romney! O my angel! O unchanged,Though, since we've parted, I have passed the grave!But Death itself could only better thee,Not change thee!—Thee I do not thank at all:I but thank God who made thee what thou art,So wholly godlike.'When he tried in vainTo raise her to his embrace, escaping thenceAs any leaping fawn from a huntsman's grasp,She bounded off and 'lighted beyond reach,Before him with a staglike majestyOf soft, serene defiance,—as she knewHe could not touch her, so was tolerantHe had cared to try. She stood there with her greatDrowned eyes, and dripping cheeks, and strange sweet smileThat lived through all, as if one held a lightAcross a waste of waters,—shook her headTo keep some thoughts down deeper in her soul,—Then, white and tranquil as a summer-cloudWhich, having rained itself to a tardy peace,Stands still in heaven as if it ruled the day,Spoke out again—'Although, my generous friend,Since last we met and parted, you're unchanged,And, having promised faith to Marian Erle,
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