Of wonderful shape and hue,

Like the feathery down of a snow-drift

’Tis dimpled with changeful blue.

I gaze on its shadowy outline

And drink in the calm of the skies,

Till I fancy it floats out of heaven,

As an angel in disguise.

No slumbering storm in its bosom,

No hint of the lightning’s glare,

Only a feast for the heart and soul

Is this treasure of the air;

For I know from its silvery edges,

And glimpses of hidden gold,

That a picture of rare tranquility

Its tender depths enfold.

Else whence is this mystic feeling

Of peace that’s stealing o’er me?

Like the magic of summer moonlight

Enchanting a restless sea.

O! heavenly cloud! why are you

So calm? so angelic you seem,

My spirit escapes in its longing—

I am lost in a beautiful dream.

Up, up on the wings of a swallow

Piercing the heaven’s deep blue,

O’er meadow and mount I am rising,

And floating, sweet spirit, to you;

Onward, in trance I am wafted,

Now into the cloudlet above;

And a face smiles out from its drapery,

And ah! ’tis a face that I love.