Skip to content
Linespedia

Stanzas

By Oliver Wendell Holmes

Topics: classic

Strange! that one lightly whispered tone     Is far, far sweeter unto me,     Than all the sounds that kiss the earth,     Or breathe along the sea;     But, lady, when thy voice I greet,     Not heavenly music seems so sweet.     I look upon the fair blue skies,     And naught but empty air I see;     But when I turn me to thin eyes,     It seemeth unto me     Ten thousand angels spread their wings     Within those little azure rings.     The lily bath the softest leaf     That ever western breeze bath fanned,     But thou shalt have the tender flower,     So I may take thy hand;     That little hand to me doth yield     More joy than all the broidered field.     O lady! there be many things     That seem right fair, below, above;     But sure not one among them all     Is half so sweet as love; -     Let us not pay our vows alone,     But join two altars both in one.

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"Strange! that one lightly whispered tone..."

Oliver Wendell Holmes's contribution to classic is further solidified by the brilliance found in "Stanzas"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Attribution & Rights

Author:Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Strange! that one lightly whispered tone..." by Oliver Wendell Holmes

For usage rights, copyright concerns, or to report an issue with this content, please visit our Copyright & Report page.

Related lines

"The house was crammed from roof to floor,     Heads piled on heads at every door;     Half dead with August's seething heat     I crowded on an"

"Yon whey-faced brother, who delights to wear     A weedy flux of ill-conditioned hair,     Seems of the sort that in a crowded place     One el"

""How many have gone?" was the question of old     Ere Time our bright ring of its jewels bereft;     Alas! for too often the death-bell has toll"

"We count the broken lyres that rest     Where the sweet wailing singers slumber,     But o'er their silent sister's breast     The wild-flowers"

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     Ere yet one footstep shows in all the sky,     And twilight in the east, a doubt as yet,     S"

"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

Oliver Wendell Holmes

About Oliver Wendell Holmes

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (1809–1894) was an American poet, physician, and essayist. His poems "Old Ironsides" and "The Chambered Nautilus" are American classics. He was part of the Fireside Poets group.

Full Bibliography
Continue Reading

"The house was crammed from roof to floor,     Head..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

Get the most inspiring lines, poetic analysis, and secret shayaris delivered to your inbox every Sunday.