My soul; is raying like a star,
My heart is happier than a bird,
And all because, through fortune-s jar,
I hear one little word.
I feel as if all life and might
Had started on a loftier course,
As if all passion and delight
Were deepened at the source.

I feel as if the very air
Was breathed from out the heart of love,
And in my heart, still rapture rare,
Sat brooding like a dove.

O beauty! Even through a word
What powers are thine to raise and bless!
O love! A seraph-s voice is heard
In thy confiding Yes!

Love is God-s messenger divine,
And nature, tending up to God,
Shall breathe His clear air pure and fine
Whatever love hath trod.