Sonnet - Dramatis Person'

"Eyes, calm beside thee, (Lady could'st thou know!) May turn away thick with fast-gathering tears: I glance not where all gaze: thrilling and low Their passionate praises reach thee—my cheek wears Alone no wonder when thou passest by; Thy tremulous lids bent and suffused reply To the irrepressible homage which doth glow On every lip but mine: if in thine ears Their accents linger—and thou dost recall Me as I stood, still, guarded, very pale, Beside each votarist whose lighted brow Wore worship like an aureole, 'O'er them all My beauty,' thou wilt murmur, 'did prevail Save that one only:'—Lady could'st thou know!