Lines Inscribed On The Wall Of A Dungeon In The Southern P Of I

Though not a breath can enter here,     I know the wind blows fresh and free;     I know the sun is shining clear,     Though not a gleam can visit me.     They thought while I in darkness lay,     'Twere pity that I should not know     How all the earth is smiling gay;     How fresh the vernal breezes blow.     They knew, such tidings to impart     Would pierce my weary spirit through,     And could they better read my heart,     They'd tell me, she was smiling too.     They need not, for I know it well,     Methinks I see her even now;     No sigh disturbs her bosom's swell,     No shade o'ercasts her angel brow.     Unmarred by grief her angel voice,     Whence sparkling wit, and wisdom flow:     And others in its sound rejoice,     And taste the joys I must not know,     Drink rapture from her soft dark eye,     And sunshine from her heavenly smile;     On wings of bliss their moments fly,     And I am pining here the while!     Oh! tell me, does she never give     To my distress a single sigh?     She smiles on them, but does she grieve     One moment, when they are not by?     When she beholds the sunny skies,     And feels the wind of heaven blow;     Has she no tear for him that lies     In dungeon gloom, so far below?     While others gladly round her press     And at her side their hours beguile,     Has she no sigh for his distress     Who cannot see a single smile     Nor hear one word nor read a line     That her beloved hand might write,     Who banished from her face must pine     Each day a long and lonely night?     Alexander April 1826