I gazed upon her picture

Amy Marcy Cheney Beach

I gazed upon her picture,

Absorbed in dreams of gloom,

Till those beloved features

Began to breathe and bloom.

About her lips came wreathing

That sweet, sweet smile I knew;

The eyes were softly gleaming

With tears as fresh as dew.

And my tears sprang there also,

The dark clouds' rain was shed;

And, O my love I cannot

Believe that thou art dead.