The works of Lord Byron A new, revised and enlarged edition, with illustrations. Edited by Ernest Hartley Coleridge and R. E. Prothero |
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 | The works of Lord Byron |  |
TO FLORENCE.
1
Oh Lady! when I left the shore,The distant shore which gave me birth,
I hardly thought to grieve once more,
To quit another spot on earth:
2
Yet here, amidst this barren isle,Where panting Nature droops the head,
Where only thou art seen to smile,
I view my parting hour with dread.
3
Though far from Albin's craggy shore,Divided by the dark-blue main;
A few, brief, rolling seasons o'er,
Perchance I view her cliffs again:
4
But wheresoe'er I now may roam,Through scorching clime, and varied sea,
Though Time restore me to my home,
I ne'er shall bend mine eyes on thee:
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5
On thee, in whom at once conspireAll charms which heedless hearts can move,
Whom but to see is to admire,
And, oh! forgive the word—to love.
6
Forgive the word, in one who ne'erWith such a word can more offend;
And since thy heart I cannot share,
Believe me, what I am, thy friend.
7
And who so cold as look on thee,Thou lovely wand'rer, and be less?
Nor be, what man should ever be,
The friend of Beauty in distress?
8
Ah! who would think that form had pastThrough Danger's most destructive path,
Had braved the death-winged tempest's blast,
And 'scaped a Tyrant's fiercer wrath?
9
Lady! when I shall view the wallsWhere free Byzantium once arose,
And Stamboul's Oriental halls
The Turkish tyrants now enclose;
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10
Though mightiest in the lists of fame,That glorious city still shall be;
On me 'twill hold a dearer claim,
As spot of thy nativity:
11
And though I bid thee now farewell,When I behold that wondrous scene—
Since where thou art I may not dwell—
'Twill soothe to be where thou hast been.
September, 1809.
| The works of Lord Byron | |