Song: On the Statue of an Angel by Bienaimé of Rome in the possession of J. S. Copley Green Esq.
Viewed: 3 - Published at: 10 years ago
Artist: Washington Allston
Year: 2013Viewed: 3 - Published at: 10 years ago
Oh, who can look on that celestial face,
And kindred for it claim with aught on earth?
If ever here more lovely form had birth—
No—never that supernal purity—that grace
So eloquent of unimpassioned love!
That, by a simple movement, thus imparts
Its own harmonious peace, the while our hearts
Rise, as by instinct, to the world above.
And yet we look on cold, unconscious stone.
But what is that which thus our spirits own
As Truth and Life? 'Tis not material Art—
But e'en the Sculptor's soul to sense unseal'd.
Oh, never may he doubt—its witness so reveal'd—
There lives within him an immortal part.
And kindred for it claim with aught on earth?
If ever here more lovely form had birth—
No—never that supernal purity—that grace
So eloquent of unimpassioned love!
That, by a simple movement, thus imparts
Its own harmonious peace, the while our hearts
Rise, as by instinct, to the world above.
And yet we look on cold, unconscious stone.
But what is that which thus our spirits own
As Truth and Life? 'Tis not material Art—
But e'en the Sculptor's soul to sense unseal'd.
Oh, never may he doubt—its witness so reveal'd—
There lives within him an immortal part.
( Washington Allston )
www.ChordsAZ.com