 | Areytos or songs and ballads of the South |  |
222
'TWAS A VISION OF FAIR LADYE.
'Twas a vision of fair ladye,
Kept, and still must keep me here,
Sadly sighing, when I should be
Happier in another sphere:
Such the fetter thrown around me
By her witchery, it hath bound me!—
That fair ladye, that fair ladye,
Holds me fast in subtle snare!
Kept, and still must keep me here,
Sadly sighing, when I should be
Happier in another sphere:
Such the fetter thrown around me
By her witchery, it hath bound me!—
That fair ladye, that fair ladye,
Holds me fast in subtle snare!
Many a hope would sweetly woo me,
And, in other regions blest,
Love and Glory both pursue me,
Seeking place within my breast;
Yet I linger, never fleeing,
Losing fame and bliss and being—
That fair ladye, that fair ladye,
Makes a captive of her guest!
And, in other regions blest,
Love and Glory both pursue me,
Seeking place within my breast;
Yet I linger, never fleeing,
Losing fame and bliss and being—
That fair ladye, that fair ladye,
Makes a captive of her guest!
Like the bird around whose pinion
Serpent spells have wrought a chain,
I am held in close dominion,
Seeking to be free in vain!
Vainly words of wo I utter—
In her bonds I fret and flutter—
That fair ladye, that fair ladye,
Oh! she laughs to see my pain!
Serpent spells have wrought a chain,
I am held in close dominion,
Seeking to be free in vain!
Vainly words of wo I utter—
In her bonds I fret and flutter—
That fair ladye, that fair ladye,
Oh! she laughs to see my pain!
Yet with spirit uncomplaining
Would I in her bonds repose,
Were she not the while disdaining
The poor captive in her close;
Would she now and then smile on him,
Though her bonds have still undone him,
That fair ladye, that fair ladye,
Still might keep him bound, Heaven knows!
Would I in her bonds repose,
Were she not the while disdaining
The poor captive in her close;
223
Though her bonds have still undone him,
That fair ladye, that fair ladye,
Still might keep him bound, Heaven knows!
| Areytos or songs and ballads of the South | |