 | Plays and poems |  |
436
[In vain to thee I stretch imploring arms]
In vain to thee I stretch imploring armsAcross the hollow waste of barren night;
In vain I task my jaded eyes for sight
Of some fair vision, whose imagined charms
May mimic thine. My bitter knowledge warms
Against my fancy. Love draws no delight
From self-delusion; and a hateful flight
Of stinging truths around my senses swarms,
Forcing thy absence on me. Idle dreams
Trouble my slumbers; but when any ray
Of thy bright presence through the darkness beams,
I start and wake, as though the height of day
Flamed on my eyelids: for it only seems
That I must love, and thou be far away.
| Plays and poems | |