The ballad of Babe Christabel with other Lyrical Poems By Gerald Massey. Fifth Edition, Revised and Enlarged |
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SWEET-AND-TWENTY. |
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 | The ballad of Babe Christabel with other Lyrical Poems |  |
SWEET-AND-TWENTY.
O my love 's a winsome lady;
Sweeter face ne'er fed Love on!
In a Court, or forest shady,
Queenlier beauty never shone.
Sweeter face ne'er fed Love on!
In a Court, or forest shady,
Queenlier beauty never shone.
Like a ladye from a far land
Came my true Love, brave to see!
As to heaven its rainbow garland,
Is her beauty rich to me.
Came my true Love, brave to see!
As to heaven its rainbow garland,
Is her beauty rich to me.
94
In white arms of love she wound me,
And I lookt up in her smile:
In warm arms of love she bound me,
As the sea takes some blest isle.
And I lookt up in her smile:
In warm arms of love she bound me,
As the sea takes some blest isle.
As some dusky lake may mirror
One fair star that shines above,
So my life—aye growing clearer—
Holds this tremulous Star of Love.
One fair star that shines above,
So my life—aye growing clearer—
Holds this tremulous Star of Love.
O to see her life in blossom,
With its bloom of bravery!
Pure the dew lies in the bosom
Of her sweet virginity.
With its bloom of bravery!
Pure the dew lies in the bosom
Of her sweet virginity.
Nearest to my heart I wear her;
As a bark the waves above—
O so proudly do I bear her
On the bosom of my love!
As a bark the waves above—
O so proudly do I bear her
On the bosom of my love!
Look you, how she cometh, trilling
Out her gay heart's bird-like bliss!
Merry as a May-morn, thrilling
With the dew and sunshine's kiss.
Out her gay heart's bird-like bliss!
Merry as a May-morn, thrilling
With the dew and sunshine's kiss.
Ruddy gossips of her beauty
Are her twin cheeks: and her mouth
In its ripe warmth smileth, fruity
As a garden of the south.
Are her twin cheeks: and her mouth
In its ripe warmth smileth, fruity
As a garden of the south.
95
Ha! my precious Sweet-and-Twenty,
Husband still your virgin pride!
Just a month, and this dear, dainty
Thing shall be my wedded Bride.
Husband still your virgin pride!
Just a month, and this dear, dainty
Thing shall be my wedded Bride.
| The ballad of Babe Christabel with other Lyrical Poems | |