The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere | ||
75
ROISIN DUBH.
DIRGE.
I
I am black but fair, and the robe I wearIs dark as death;
My cheek is pale, and I bind my veil
With a cypress wreath.
Where the nightshades flower I build the bower
Of my secret rest:
O kind is sleep to the eyes that weep
And the bleeding breast.
II
My palace floor I tread no more;No throne is mine;
No sceptre I hold, nor drink from gold
Of victory's wine;
Yet I rule a Queen in the worlds unseen
By Sassanach eye;
A realm I have in the hearts of the brave
And an empery.
The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere | ||