Ranolf and Amohia A dream of two lives. By Alfred Domett. New edition, revised |
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Ranolf and Amohia | ||
II.
Then Ranolf, with a quicker-throbbing heart,
Watched in the cot assigned to him apart;
With door ajar, and sharp attentive ear
Watched—listened for the faint delicious sound—
The footstep that he felt must now be near.
—A rustle . . . No?—'twas fancy!—then more clear
Another!—'Tis herself! with that wan face,
Locked in his almost fiercely fond embrace!—
Yes, 'tis herself! and never, come what may,
Shall she be torn from that fond heart away!
And She—into his arms herself she flung
With what a burst of passionate sobs! and hung
Upon his neck with moans of happiness;
And felt once more his vehement caress,
With what an ecstacy of soothing tears!
And revelled in the burning kiss on kiss,
With such intense relief from doubts and fears;
Such sense of infinite agony supprest,
Swallowed, like night in lightning-sheets—in this,
This full fruition of exceeding bliss—
As if upon the heaven of that breast
Her soul had reached its everlasting rest!
Watched in the cot assigned to him apart;
With door ajar, and sharp attentive ear
Watched—listened for the faint delicious sound—
The footstep that he felt must now be near.
—A rustle . . . No?—'twas fancy!—then more clear
Another!—'Tis herself! with that wan face,
Locked in his almost fiercely fond embrace!—
Yes, 'tis herself! and never, come what may,
Shall she be torn from that fond heart away!
And She—into his arms herself she flung
With what a burst of passionate sobs! and hung
Upon his neck with moans of happiness;
And felt once more his vehement caress,
With what an ecstacy of soothing tears!
And revelled in the burning kiss on kiss,
With such intense relief from doubts and fears;
Such sense of infinite agony supprest,
Swallowed, like night in lightning-sheets—in this,
This full fruition of exceeding bliss—
As if upon the heaven of that breast
Her soul had reached its everlasting rest!
But when the Sea of their emotions ran
In less tumultuous billows, and began
In gentler agitation to subside,
So that clear Thought and Speech articulate
Above the tide unwrecked could ride;
Then Ranolf, holding at arms' length awhile
His new-found treasure, his recovered bride,
Gazes with mournful gladness in his smile—
Gazes with fond and pitying tenderness
At those thin pallid features, which the weight
And anguish of despair no more depress—
Into those eyes which happy tears beteem—
As to make sure it was not all a dream!
In less tumultuous billows, and began
In gentler agitation to subside,
293
Above the tide unwrecked could ride;
Then Ranolf, holding at arms' length awhile
His new-found treasure, his recovered bride,
Gazes with mournful gladness in his smile—
Gazes with fond and pitying tenderness
At those thin pallid features, which the weight
And anguish of despair no more depress—
Into those eyes which happy tears beteem—
As to make sure it was not all a dream!
“No Spirit then!—my own
Own Amo, loving and alive again!
O God! can such delight indeed be mine!”—
Own Amo, loving and alive again!
O God! can such delight indeed be mine!”—
“No Spirit—no—nor dead, but with the pain
To lose thy love; and thought of that alone
Would kill me any time—”
To lose thy love; and thought of that alone
Would kill me any time—”
“Then never think
The thought; the thing itself, my dearest, best,
Shall never be a grief of thine!”
The thought; the thing itself, my dearest, best,
Shall never be a grief of thine!”
“What! you will never be distrest
For want of all that sunset-tinted snow
And hair, such as the moonbeams link. . .
What was it?”
For want of all that sunset-tinted snow
And hair, such as the moonbeams link. . .
What was it?”
“Amo!—”
“Nay, then nay—
Not that upbraiding look to-day!
See! o'er these dear, dear features, worn with care,
See, see! my murmuring lips must stray
With flying faint half-kisses, so
To smooth all that reproach away!
No, I will never doubt again—
Do not these features, pale with grief,
Do they not say my Stranger-Chief
My lord, my life, will never choose
His poor wild maiden's love to lose?—
But how then could you be so sad
When I was with you?”
Not that upbraiding look to-day!
See! o'er these dear, dear features, worn with care,
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With flying faint half-kisses, so
To smooth all that reproach away!
No, I will never doubt again—
Do not these features, pale with grief,
Do they not say my Stranger-Chief
My lord, my life, will never choose
His poor wild maiden's love to lose?—
But how then could you be so sad
When I was with you?”
“I was mad—
An idiot, dearest! just to shun
A small misfortune, so to run
The risk of that o'erwhelming one
By which I were indeed undone!—
But small and great shall soon be o'er,
And neither shall afflict us more,
If you will leave this land with me,
And dare to cross yon starlit sea!”
An idiot, dearest! just to shun
A small misfortune, so to run
The risk of that o'erwhelming one
By which I were indeed undone!—
But small and great shall soon be o'er,
And neither shall afflict us more,
If you will leave this land with me,
And dare to cross yon starlit sea!”
“What is to me land, sea, or sky
So that with you, I live and die!”—
So that with you, I live and die!”—
Ranolf and Amohia | ||