[Written for the Sentinel]

Wise Wishing

If I could have one wish for thee,
And only one,
And I in faithless vanity
Should summon wealth, and thou wert won
To gilden bravery,—
False to my trust I'd be.
Our needs are few; false wants are slavery.

I need not wish success,—it crowns
All work well done;
Nor yet would I invoke renown's
Bright coronal; friends thou hast won,—
More loved thou needst not be.
May power to love abound
In consciousness,—this is my wish for thee.

May true and tender deeds engage
Till Love's kind air
Envelops thee as purest pledge
Of immortality; so rare
Thy dower when thought aspires
To love,—thy heritage
Is liberty,—fulfilled thy high desires.

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