Something Elusive, yet Supremely Fair

The Ideal
by Florence Earle Coates

"Not the treasures is it that have awakened in me so-unspeakable a desire, but the Blue Flower is what I long to behold."—Novalis.

Something I may not win attracts me ever,—
⁠Something elusive, yet supremely fair,
Thrills me with gladness, but contents me never,
⁠Fills me with sadness, yet forbids despair.

It blossoms just beyond the paths I follow,
⁠It shines beyond the farthest stars I see,
It echoes faint from ocean caverns hollow,
⁠And from the land of dreams it beckons me.

It calls, and all my best, with joyful feeling,
⁠Essays to reach it as I make reply;
I feel its sweetness o'er my spirit stealing,
⁠Yet know ere I attain it I must die!