 | The poems of Richard Henry Stoddard |  |
ARAB SONGS.
[O lovely fawn! O my gazelle]
O lovely fawn! O my gazelle!
O moon on summer seas!
Full moon whose beauty doth surpass
The Pleiades!
O moon on summer seas!
Full moon whose beauty doth surpass
The Pleiades!
I swear an oath to fast a month
The day that I am blest,
The happy day I press thee, dear,
Upon my breast!
The day that I am blest,
The happy day I press thee, dear,
Upon my breast!
[Break thou my heart, ah, break it]
Break thou my heart, ah, break it,
If such thy pleasure be;
Thy will is mine, what say I?
'T is more than mine to me.
If such thy pleasure be;
Thy will is mine, what say I?
'T is more than mine to me.
216
And if my life offend thee,
My passion and my pain,
Take thou my life, ah, take it,
But spare me thy disdain!
My passion and my pain,
Take thou my life, ah, take it,
But spare me thy disdain!
[Beloved, since they watch us]
Beloved, since they watch us,
For all we meet are spies,
And we can have no messengers,
Except our loving eyes,
For all we meet are spies,
And we can have no messengers,
Except our loving eyes,
I check my fiery feelings,
The words I must not speak,
Content to see, I dare not pluck,
The roses of thy cheek.
The words I must not speak,
Content to see, I dare not pluck,
The roses of thy cheek.
Give me a glance, belovèd,
Now none are near to see:
My downcast eyes will read my palms,
I will not look at thee.
Now none are near to see:
My downcast eyes will read my palms,
I will not look at thee.
It is not resignation,
It is the deepest art:
Be wary, then, and doubt no more,
But trust my loving heart.
It is the deepest art:
Be wary, then, and doubt no more,
But trust my loving heart.
[Thou art my only love]
Thou art my only love,
The world is nothing now:
In no walled garden grows
So fair a branch as thou.
The world is nothing now:
In no walled garden grows
So fair a branch as thou.
217
Thou hast forgotten all,
Ah yes, it must be so.
She should have been my friend,
She has become my foe.
Ah yes, it must be so.
She should have been my friend,
She has become my foe.
I've drunk the bitter cup,
Since we were parted, Sweet;
The tears I shed have made
This river at my feet!
Since we were parted, Sweet;
The tears I shed have made
This river at my feet!
Ah, long, long hours of love!
Ah, nights we stole from sleep!
When such sweet nights are gone,
It is no shame to weep!
Ah, nights we stole from sleep!
When such sweet nights are gone,
It is no shame to weep!
[I hid my love when near you]
I hid my love when near you,
My pain for your sweet sake;
But now that you are absent,
My heart must speak, or break.
God save you from such passion,
It never knows despair,
For whether kind or cruel,
You are the only fair.
My pain for your sweet sake;
But now that you are absent,
My heart must speak, or break.
God save you from such passion,
It never knows despair,
For whether kind or cruel,
You are the only fair.
You will not see me, Sweetest,
Nor answer, when I call;
But I will follow, follow
Beyond the giant's wall.
Go, shut your door against me,
I will not doubt, or fear;
God still leaves one door open,
The door of hope, my dear!
Nor answer, when I call;
But I will follow, follow
Beyond the giant's wall.
Go, shut your door against me,
I will not doubt, or fear;
God still leaves one door open,
The door of hope, my dear!
218
Could I have loved another,
That time is now no more;
I cover with my kisses
The threshold of your door.
Open the door of pity,
And hear my burning sigh,
For absent from you longer
Is sadder than to die!
That time is now no more;
I cover with my kisses
The threshold of your door.
Open the door of pity,
And hear my burning sigh,
For absent from you longer
Is sadder than to die!
[“Girl, I love thee!” Her reply]
“Girl, I love thee!” Her reply
Was the saucy one, “You lie!
If you love me, as you say,
Why are you alive to-day?
I will tell you what to do:
There will be no love in you
Till your blood is weak and thin,
And your bones prick through your skin;
Till you wither, heart and mind,
And are nearly deaf and blind,
Scarcely hear them when they call,
And not answer them at all;
Till you never prate again
Of your love, and my disdain,
No, nor breathe it in your sighs;
Or at least until your eyes,
Blind with tears that rain for me,
Shall your only vouchers be.”
Was the saucy one, “You lie!
If you love me, as you say,
Why are you alive to-day?
I will tell you what to do:
There will be no love in you
Till your blood is weak and thin,
And your bones prick through your skin;
Till you wither, heart and mind,
And are nearly deaf and blind,
Scarcely hear them when they call,
And not answer them at all;
Till you never prate again
Of your love, and my disdain,
No, nor breathe it in your sighs;
Or at least until your eyes,
Blind with tears that rain for me,
Shall your only vouchers be.”
Master of the Universe!
If there be a deeper curse
Than this terrible despair,
(Burden more than I can bear,)
O let Leila have her share!
Let my love divided be,
Half to her, and half to me;
Or, if this be not her fate,
Let her neither love nor hate,
Only be indifferent,
I will try to be content.
If there be a deeper curse
Than this terrible despair,
(Burden more than I can bear,)
O let Leila have her share!
219
Half to her, and half to me;
Or, if this be not her fate,
Let her neither love nor hate,
Only be indifferent,
I will try to be content.
“Ah, but she is sick,” you say.
Why was I not sent for, pray?
There is danger in delay.
I have taken my degree
(Leila knows, my master, she,)
Let me her physician be.
These diseases of the heart
Are beyond the reach of art:
He who gives can cure the smart.
Why was I not sent for, pray?
There is danger in delay.
I have taken my degree
(Leila knows, my master, she,)
Let me her physician be.
These diseases of the heart
Are beyond the reach of art:
He who gives can cure the smart.
[If you meet my sweet gazelle]
If you meet my sweet gazelle,
By these signs you'll know her well:
Eyes like arrows, black and bright,
Cheeks the fiery rose of night,
And her voice a silver bell.
By these signs you'll know her well:
Eyes like arrows, black and bright,
Cheeks the fiery rose of night,
And her voice a silver bell.
I am burning with desire,
Like a parchment in the fire;
I am dying, hear my cry,
'T is for love of thee I die,
Emir's Daughter, Peacock's Eye!
Like a parchment in the fire;
I am dying, hear my cry,
'T is for love of thee I die,
Emir's Daughter, Peacock's Eye!
Hearts of rocks, be soft to me,
Or my tears will soften thee,
In my passion and my pain
Flowing down my cheeks like rain,
And they will not flow in vain!
Or my tears will soften thee,
In my passion and my pain
Flowing down my cheeks like rain,
And they will not flow in vain!
220
I know where her palace stands,
It is in the far-off lands,
Over mountains, over sands:
Seldom letters reach her there,
Never wretched lover's prayer.
It is in the far-off lands,
Over mountains, over sands:
Seldom letters reach her there,
Never wretched lover's prayer.
I am dying, for no art
Can relieve my broken heart.
What I suffer none can tell,
Blasted by the fires of hell,
By the love of that gazelle!
Can relieve my broken heart.
What I suffer none can tell,
Blasted by the fires of hell,
By the love of that gazelle!
There's a stately palm that grows
Where the purest water flows:
She's its fruit: her lips are red
As the blush that rubies shed,
Or the west when day is dead.
Where the purest water flows:
She's its fruit: her lips are red
As the blush that rubies shed,
Or the west when day is dead.
Life and death are met in me,
But I only think of thee.
Let the happy fool complain,
What is dying? Where's the pain?
I have lived, and loved in vain!
But I only think of thee.
Let the happy fool complain,
What is dying? Where's the pain?
I have lived, and loved in vain!
| The poems of Richard Henry Stoddard | |