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43
The Cypress and Myrtle.
(Imitation of Shelley.)
There was a garden fair to see,
And in it bloomed a myrtle tree.
Its pure frail buds of pearlish white
Feasted on air, and heat, and light.
And in it bloomed a myrtle tree.
Its pure frail buds of pearlish white
Feasted on air, and heat, and light.
But in that garden fair to view,
Not far off, a dark cypress grew:
Its cold black shadow crept from dawn
Till eve across the glittering lawn
Not far off, a dark cypress grew:
Its cold black shadow crept from dawn
Till eve across the glittering lawn
And every day at noon-tide hour
That shadow crossed the myrtle-flower,
And as it passed the roses paled,
The shuddering myrtle shrank and quailed.
That shadow crossed the myrtle-flower,
And as it passed the roses paled,
The shuddering myrtle shrank and quailed.
And week by week, and day by day,
That shadow on the myrtle lay,
A heavy gloom, a freezing fear,
More than the slender plant could bear.
That shadow on the myrtle lay,
A heavy gloom, a freezing fear,
More than the slender plant could bear.
And week by week, and day by day,
That gentle myrtle pined
They could not both live side by side.
Who doubts it was the myrtle died?
That gentle myrtle pined
They could not both live side by side.
Who doubts it was the myrtle died?
Oh life, oh garden, crossed by fate,
So beautiful so desolate!
Oh poisoning thought forever nigh!
How dare we love? why must we die?
So beautiful so desolate!
Oh poisoning thought forever nigh!
How dare we love? why must we die?
May 5th, 1886.
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