Explore "Her Portrait" by Madison Cawein on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Were I an artist, Lydia, I / Would paint you as you merit, / Not as my eyes, but dreams, descry; / Not in the flesh, but spirit.
The canvas I would paint you on / Should be a bit of heaven; / My brush, a sunbeam; pigments, dawn / And night and starry even.
Your form and features to express, / Likewise your soul's chaste whiteness, / I'd take the primal essences / Of darkness and of brightness.
I'd take pure night to paint your hair; / Stars for your eyes; and morning / To paint your skin -- the rosy air / That is your limbs' adorning.
To paint the love-bows of your lips, / I'd mix, for colors, kisses; / And for your breasts and finger-tips, / Sweet odors and soft blisses.
And to complete the picture well, / I'd temper all with woman, -- / Some tears, some laughter; heaven and hell, / To show you still are human.