| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895. |
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| The First Kiss |
| | | Theodore Watts-Dunton (1832–1914) |
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| IF only in dreams may man be fully blest, | |
| Is heav’n a dream? Is she I clasp’d a dream? | |
| Or stood she here even now where dew-drops gleam | |
| And miles of furze shine golden down the West? | |
| I seem to clasp her still—still on my breast | 5 |
| Her bosom beats,—I see the blue eyes beam:— | |
| I think she kiss’d these lips, for now they seem | |
| Scarce mine: so hallow’d of the lips they press’d! | |
| Yon thicket’s breath—can that be eglantine? | |
| Those birds—can they be morning’s choristers? | 10 |
| Can this be earth? Can these be banks of furze? | |
| Like burning bushes fir’d of God they shine! | |
| I seem to know them, though this body of mine | |
| Pass’d into spirit at the touch of hers! | |
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