 | Songs and Poems from 1819 to 1879 |  |
20
TO------
And canst thou, lady, bid me sing,
Yet turn thine ear unmoved away;
And still with cold indifference wring
The heart that bends beneath thy sway?
And canst thou bid my harp with glee
From theme to theme inconstant rove?
Or think that when 'tis touched for thee,
Its chords will echo aught but love?
Yet turn thine ear unmoved away;
And still with cold indifference wring
The heart that bends beneath thy sway?
And canst thou bid my harp with glee
From theme to theme inconstant rove?
Or think that when 'tis touched for thee,
Its chords will echo aught but love?
How can I sing of morning's smile,
And pass unpraised thy brighter eye?
Or evening's breeze, nor think the while,
Sweet lady, on thy softer sigh?
How cruel, then, the task I prove—
Why, lady, ask a lay from me,
Who cannot sing of aught but love,
Yet must not sing of love to thee?
And pass unpraised thy brighter eye?
Or evening's breeze, nor think the while,
Sweet lady, on thy softer sigh?
How cruel, then, the task I prove—
Why, lady, ask a lay from me,
Who cannot sing of aught but love,
Yet must not sing of love to thee?
| Songs and Poems from 1819 to 1879 | |