**A Lover’s Lament to His Distant CC** 

By Paul Morphy 

O gentle moon, thou lantern of the night, 
That gilds the earth with beams of silver hue, 
Why dost thou mock my heart with pallid light, 
When CC’s face doth fade from memory’s view? 
Two months have crept, a slow and silent train, 
Since last her voice did soothe my weary soul; 
Yet love, unyielding, burns through all my pain, 
And bids my heart to keep her name its goal. 

O CC, fairest star in heaven’s frame, 
Thy gentle grace doth haunt my waking dreams! 
Though time hath carved a chasm ‘twixt our flame, 
My love for thee in constant ardor streams. 
No word, no glance, no tender touch we share, 
Yet in my breast thy shadow lingers still; 
Each night I breathe thy name in fervent prayer, 
And beg the fates to bend unto my will. 

But wounds, like roses, need their time to bloom, 
And hearts, though cleft, must mend in quiet care. 
I’ll wait, sweet CC, ‘midst this lonesome gloom, 
Till healing grants us leave to love repair. 
O let the day, with mercy’s golden hand, 
Restore our speech where love may yet abide! 
Till then, my soul shall wander in this land, 
With thee, my CC, ever by my side.