The Poetical Works of George Barlow In Ten [Eleven] Volumes |
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| X. |
| XI. |
 | The Poetical Works of George Barlow |  |
22
SONNET XX
PSYCHE'S ZONE
As Love bestowed on Psyche a bright snake
To twist in belted beauty round her waist,
That so she might be kept for ever chaste,
And every prying hand might tremble and shake,—
So have I given my Lady a zone to take
And round her beating side to wind and clasp;
A rustling girdle of song doth grip and grasp
The far-off heart that quivers for song's sake.
To twist in belted beauty round her waist,
That so she might be kept for ever chaste,
And every prying hand might tremble and shake,—
So have I given my Lady a zone to take
And round her beating side to wind and clasp;
A rustling girdle of song doth grip and grasp
The far-off heart that quivers for song's sake.
Intrude not, any wandering lover, lest
This serpent that around her body fair
In tortuous coils of gleaming colours hangs
Should strike you with irreparable fangs:—
Leave unto me her snow-white body and breast;
Leave unto me her red lips and brown hair.
This serpent that around her body fair
In tortuous coils of gleaming colours hangs
Should strike you with irreparable fangs:—
Leave unto me her snow-white body and breast;
Leave unto me her red lips and brown hair.
1874.
| The Poetical Works of George Barlow | |