To Charlotte Cushman
Look where a three-point star shall weave his beamInto the slumb’rous tissue of some stream,Till his bright self o’er his bright copy seemFulfillment dropping on a come-true dream;So in this night of art thy soul doth showHer excellent double in the steadfast flowOf wishing love that through men’s hearts doth go:At once thou shin’st above and shin’st below.E’en when thou strivest there within Art’s sky(Each star must o’er a strenuous orbit fly),Full calm thine image in our love doth lie,A Motion glassed in a Tranquillity.So triple-rayed, thou mov’st, yet stay’st, serene—Art’s artist, Love’s dear woman, Fame’s good queen!
Baltimore, 1875.