Letitia Elizabeth Landon

“ It has its own romances,
And a wide, wide world have they!
A world where phantasie is king,
Made all of eager dreaming;
When once grown up and tall,
Now is the time for scheming,
Then we shall do them all! ”

“ Wherein the strange insect that buildeth them dwells.
There is life in the shells that are strewed o'er the sands,
Not filled, but with music, as on our own strands;
Around me are whitening the bones of the dead,
And a starfish has grown to the rock overhead.
Sometimes a vast shadow goes darkly along,
The shark or the sword-fish, the fearful and strong;
There is fear in the eyes that are glaring around,
As they pass, like the spectres of death, without sound:
Over rocks without summer, the dull sea-weeds trail,
And the blossoms that spring there are scentless and pale ”

“ Of the after-growth of flowers.
We have fallen from each other,
Have changed and disagreed;
Our lips are closed and careless,
Of love we have no need.
The world has entered in us,
We doubt where once we dreamed ”