"In an Artist's Studio"
By Christina Rossetti (1856)
One face looks out from all his canvasses, a[1]
One selfsame figure sits or walks or leans; b
We found her hidden just behind those screens, b
That mirror gave back all her loveliness. a
A queen in opal or in ruby dress, a
A nameless girl in freshest summer greens, b
A saint, an angel; -- every canvass means b
The same one meaning[2], neither more nor less. [3] a
He feeds upon her face by day and night, c
And she with true kind eyes looks back on him d
Fair as the moon and joyfull as the light; c [4]
Not wan with waiting, not with sorrow dim; d
Not as she is, but was when hope shone bright; c
Not as she is, but as she fills his dream [5]. e
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