Once

Suppose your presence here had never lit
Upon my eyes nor given light to me,
Then words or verse this bright could not have writ
Themselves to ink through my pen's faculty.
My artless hand could not alone have wrote
These measured lines without your guiding pull,
So by my sonnet's art I now denote
A gift bestowed by one most beautiful.
Your charms impelled my heart and hand to leap
At words' attempt to illustrate your poise,
Remembrance of your lips I tried to keep
With gilded verse to imitate your voice.
To poet's work your smile gave birth so show
On face the pride that only muses know.