 | The Poems of Thomas Davis |  |
140
THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME.
I
The dames of France are fond and free,And Flemish lips are willing,
And soft the maids of Italy,
And Spanish eyes are thrilling;
Still, though I bask beneath their smile,
Their charms fail to bind me,
And my heart flies back to Erin's isle,
To the girl I left behind me.
II
For she's as fair as Shannon's side,And purer than its water,
But she refused to be my bride
Though many a year I sought her;
Yet, since to France I sailed away,
Her letters oft remind me
That I promised never to gainsay
The girl I left behind me.
141
III
She says—“My own dear love, come home,My friends are rich and many,
Or else abroad with you I'll roam
A soldier stout as any;
If you'll not come, nor let me go,
I'll think you have resigned me.”
My heart nigh broke when I answered—No!
To the girl I left behind me.
IV
For never shall my true love braveA life of war and toiling;
And never as a skulking slave
I'll tread my native soil on;
But, were it free or to be freed,
The battle's close would find me
To Ireland bound—nor message need
From the girl I left behind me.
| The Poems of Thomas Davis | |