[Poems by Wilde in] Richard Henry Wilde His Life and Selected Poems |
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SONNET FROM THE PORTUGUESE OF CAMOENS |
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 | [Poems by Wilde in] Richard Henry Wilde |  |
SONNET FROM THE PORTUGUESE OF CAMOENS
“Cycnis qui non sine causâ Apollini dicati sint
... cum cantu et voluptate moriantur.”
Cic. Tuscul. Quaest. Lib I
... cum cantu et voluptate moriantur.”
Cic. Tuscul. Quaest. Lib I
They say the swan, though mute his whole life long,
Pours forth sweet melody when life is flying,
Making the desert plaintive with his song
Wond'rous and sad and sweetest still while dying.
Is it for Life and Pleasure lost, he's sighing?
Grieving to lose, what none can e'er prolong:—
O! no, he hails it's close, on death relying
As an escape from violence and wrong.
And thus, dear Lady! I at length perceiving
The fatal end of my unhappy madness,
In thy oft-broken faith no more believing
Welcome despair's sole comforter with gladness,
And mourning one so fair is so deceiving,
Pour out my soul in notes of Love and Sadness!
| [Poems by Wilde in] Richard Henry Wilde | |