 | [Poems by Drake in] The life and works of Joseph Rodman Drake (1795-1820) |  |
The Sigh
As silent and sad by my Eliza I sat,
Love fired and tormented my breast;
But I trembled and dared not my sufferings relate,
And I fain would have lulled them to rest.
Love fired and tormented my breast;
But I trembled and dared not my sufferings relate,
And I fain would have lulled them to rest.
But my eye that would glisten at times with a tear,
And the flush that still glowed on my cheek,
Betrayed what I dreaded, yet wished to appear
More plainly than language could speak.
And the flush that still glowed on my cheek,
Betrayed what I dreaded, yet wished to appear
More plainly than language could speak.
She saw, and as angels in pity look down
On saints that are fated to die,
My Eliza hung o'er me, nor killed with a frown,
'Twas compassion that gleamed in her eye.
On saints that are fated to die,
My Eliza hung o'er me, nor killed with a frown,
'Twas compassion that gleamed in her eye.
She spoke not; but oh, I could read in her looks,
That she'd fain her emotions define,
And as gently her hand gently yielded, I took,
Her pulse beat as rapid as mine.
That she'd fain her emotions define,
And as gently her hand gently yielded, I took,
Her pulse beat as rapid as mine.
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Yet I trusted not still to my flattering tongue,
The bold language of love to apply;
But my heart struggled under the weight that so long
Had pressed it, and breathed out a sigh.
The bold language of love to apply;
But my heart struggled under the weight that so long
Had pressed it, and breathed out a sigh.
As the rose, when the gay zephyr fans it, will wave
And glow with more beautiful stain,
So my Eliza looked up deeply blushing, and gave
The sigh, all I wished for, again.
And glow with more beautiful stain,
So my Eliza looked up deeply blushing, and gave
The sigh, all I wished for, again.
J. D.
| [Poems by Drake in] The life and works of Joseph Rodman Drake (1795-1820) | |