The Prince Imperial.

Under the cross in the Southern skies,
Where the beautiful night like a shadow lies,
A fair young life went out in the light
To wake no more in the star-crowned night.

Beautiful visions of life were his,
    Visions of triumph and fame;
Longing for glory that he might be
    Worthy to wear his name.

Brave was his heart as he sailed away
    Under the Northern sky;
Leaving behind him all that he loved--
    Stilling his heart's wild cry.

Proudly his mother, with royal pride,
    Stifled her last regret;
Steeling her heart--but her dream was in vain
    For the star of his race was set.

Surely the moon as he slept at night
    Whispered his doom on high;
Surely the waves in their rocky beds
    Mourned as he passed them by.

For never again in the dusky night
    Would the prince go sailing by;
Weaving his dreams with a boyish pride
    Under the shadowy sky.

Silent and cold in the morn he lay,
    Slain by a ruthless hand!
Never to wake with his fearless eyes--
    Never again to command.

Imperial mother--too well we know
The speechless depths of her awful woe;
For the bright young life into Eternity hurled
Was her only like to a sad, dark world.

But mothers kneel in the silent night
To whisper a prayer to the Throne of Light,
For the beautiful woman whose head lies low,
Crushed 'neath the weight of its crown of woe.

From sun to shadow her life has swayed
Like some wild rose in a mountain glade;
But the storms have won, and the blossom lies
Forever broken--no more to rise.

Fannie Isabelle Sherrick

Fannie Isabelle Sherrick was an American poet of the 19th century. Not much is known about her early life, but her poetry was well-regarded and she became known for her emotional and heartfelt verses. She contributed to various periodicals and was part of the literary scene of her time. Her works often focused on themes of love, nature, and the human experience. Despite her contributions, detailed biographical information about Sherrick remains sparse.

Fannie Isabelle Sherrick

Winter Flowers.

Fannie Isabelle Sherrick, Simple Poetry

Autumn Flowers.

Fannie Isabelle Sherrick, Simple Poetry

The Song of the Brook.

Fannie Isabelle Sherrick, Simple Poetry

Falling Leaves.

Fannie Isabelle Sherrick, Simple Poetry

English

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Unrecorded.

The splendors of a southern sun
    Caress the glowing sky;
O'er crested waves, the colors glance
    And gleaming, softly die.
A gentle calm from heaven falls
    And weaves a mystic spell;
A glowing grace that charms the soul--
    Whose glory none can tell.

Oh, warm sweet treasures of a sun
    Of endless fire and love;
Those dying embers are the flames
    From heavenly fires above.
Unto the water's edge they creep
    And bathe the seas in red;
Then die like shadows on the deep
    With glory cold and dead.

A ship--a lone, dark wanderer
    Upon the southern seas,
Speeds like a white-faced messenger
    Before the dying breeze.
Her masts are tipped with amethyst,
    A splendor all untold;
A crimson mantle wraps h...

Fannie Isabelle Sherrick

The Phantom of Love.

She stood by my side with a queenly air,
Her face it was young and proud and fair;
She held my rose in her hands of snow;
It crimsoned her face with a deeper glow;
The sunlight drooped in her eyes of fire
And quickened my heart to a wild desire;
I envied the rose in her hands so fair,
I envied the flowers that gleamed in her hair.

Ah! many a suitor I knew before
Had knelt at her feet in the days of yore;
And many a lover as foolish as I,
Had proudly boasted to win or die.
She had scorned them all with a careless grace
And a woman's scorn on her beautiful face.
Yet now in the summer I knelt at her feet,
And dreamed a dream that was fair and sweet.

The roses drooped in her gold-brown hair,
And quivered and glowed in the sun-lit air;
The jew...

Fannie Isabelle Sherrick

Sunset on the Mississippi.

O beautiful hills in the purple light,
    That shadow the western sky,
I dream of you oft in the silent night,
    As the golden days go by.

The river that flows at my longing feet
    Is tinged with a deeper glow;
But the song that it sings is as sad to-day
    As it was in the long ago.

The far-off clouds in the far-off sky
    Are tinted with gold and red;
But the lesson they tell to the hearts of men
    Is a lesson that never is said.

The star-crowned night in her sable plumes
    Is veiling the eastern sky,
And she trails her robes in the dying fires
    That far in the west do lie.

A single gem from her circlet old
    Is lost as she wanders by,
And the beautiful star with its golden light
    Shines out in the lo...

Fannie Isabelle Sherrick

The Queen-Rose. A Summer Idyl.

The sunlight fell with a golden gleam
    On the waves of the rippling rill;
The pansies nodded their purple heads;
    But the proud queen-rose stood still.
She loved the light and she loved the sun,
And the peaceful night when the day was done,
But the faithless sun in his careless way
Had broken her heart on that summer's day.

She had bathed her soul in his warm sweet, rays,
    She had given her life to him;
And her crimson heart--it was his alone--
    Of love it was full to the brim.
But a fairer bud in the garden of love
Had conquered the heart of the king above;
And the proud queen-rose on that summer's day
Had given a love that was thrown away.

The pansies laughed in the summer breeze,
    For they were so happy and free;
And the...

Fannie Isabelle Sherrick

Under the Stars.

Under the stars, when the shadows fall,
    Under the stars of night;
What is so fair as the jeweled crown
Of the azure skies, when the sun is down,
    Beautiful stars of light!

Under the stars, where the daisies lie
    Lifeless beneath the snow;
Lovely and pure, they have lived a day,
Silently passing forever away,
    Lying so meek and low.

Under the stars in the long-ago--
    Under the stars to-night;
Life is the same, with its great unrest
Wearily throbbing within each breast,
    Searching for truth and light.

Under the stars as they drift along,
    Far in the azure seas;
Beautiful treasures of light and song,
Glad'ning the earth as they glide along,
    What is so fair as these?

Under the stars in the quiet...

Fannie Isabelle Sherrick

The Star of Youth.

The sun sinks down in the crimson west,
    Oh, a beautiful sun is he;
With his purple robes and his crown of gold
    And his feet dipped in the sea.

Along the shore where the sea-weeds lie
    Like threads of her tangled hair,
Naomi stands in the amber glow
    Of the mystical sunset air.

Her hair is brown, with a yellow tinge
    That rivals the gold of the west;
Her eyes are dark with the velvety glow
    That darkens the pansy's breast.

A star shines out in the purple east,
    Oh, a beautiful star is he!
With his home in the wonderful azure skies,
    And his throne in the deep blue sea.

There are bars of gold in the crimson west
    And jewels on every bar;
Yet Naomi's soul is beyond the sea,
    And her eyes are f...

Fannie Isabelle Sherrick