WE read in our childhood of rings which were wrought <br />By magical fires in the heart of the hills; <br />Which could whirl one through space with the quickness of thought, <br />And heal with a touch the most deadly of ills! <br />But the one which I coveted more than the rest, <br />Was always described as a beautiful blue, <br />Which changed in a moment if used as a test, <br />And called to distinguish the false from the true. <br /> <br />If I had but this ring on my finger to-day, <br />And could ask it each question that burns on my tongue, <br />Dare I listen unshrinking to all it could say, <br />Dare I use it like those which are fabled in song! <br />And if it turned green when applied to the root <br />Of a hope which I held, or a heart which I cherished, <br />Could I turn in my path, shake the dust from my foot, <br />And fling them aside like a rose that has perished? <br /> <br />Oh! frail as we are, all our life is a chain <br />Of links which half-hidden yet strengthen the rest, <br />No poor little dream is created in vain, <br />If we saw what was true, should we do what was best? <br />And if we could conjure the shadows that lurk <br />In the corners of life into being and form, <br />Would they leave us the calmness that fits us for work, <br />Or rob us of courage to weather the storm? <br /> <br />Ah, friend of my heart! if a fairy in play <br />Should give you a ring which would whisper of me, <br />I pray you to cast the temptation away;-- <br />Since you trust in my love, let it be! let it be! <br />Restore it, sweet heart, to the hand whence it came, <br />Although it may be the most beautiful blue, <br />And cease not to trust me and love me the same, <br />Nor peril the test--if we knew! if we knew!<br /><br />Bessie Rayner Parkes<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/magic-rings/
