 | In Cornwall and Across the Sea |  |
Why did he kiss her not? because he loved her;
Because an angry word, a struggle vain,
Might breed a coldness which should long remain:
The blushing maid but strove, as it behoved her.
Because an angry word, a struggle vain,
Might breed a coldness which should long remain:
The blushing maid but strove, as it behoved her.
Would it have pleased him, had she yielded lightly
To every lip, which sought her cheek to taste,
Under the mistletoe by frolic placed
Over the door, while laughter echoed brightly?
To every lip, which sought her cheek to taste,
Under the mistletoe by frolic placed
Over the door, while laughter echoed brightly?
Why no! she had his worship: it would waken
A rude surprise to see his Artemis,
From the high-places where he shrined her, taken,
As if she were no coyer than Cypris,
And the pure dew from off her sweet mouth shaken,
The virgin dew, by mirth and mischief's kiss.
A rude surprise to see his Artemis,
From the high-places where he shrined her, taken,
As if she were no coyer than Cypris,
And the pure dew from off her sweet mouth shaken,
The virgin dew, by mirth and mischief's kiss.
| In Cornwall and Across the Sea | |