Byron, and so lovely. The Romantics always nurture something inside of me:
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
I like his rythm, his take on beauty as personified by Mrs. Anne Beatrix Wilmot who was dressed in mourning and spangles. Byron picks up on her parradoxical dress and uses it as the balance point his poem. The "Dark and bright" "One shade the more, one ray the less" his language goes back and forth in a beautiful aesthetic description which leads him to her peaceful mind and innocent heart.
Thank you for bringing this lovely poem to our attention. I'm a choir geek, always looking for good choral settings of the best prose our planet has to offer. Here's how I was introduced, or perhaps reintroduced, to Lord Byron's immortal lines, by the wonderful British composer, Paul Mealor. Peace.