 | Phantasmion |  |
376
[Ah, where lie now those locks that lately stream'd]
Ah, where lie now those locks that lately stream'd
'Mid gales that fann'd in vain the fever'd cheek?
Low let them rest, ye winds,
The heart now rests in peace.
'Mid gales that fann'd in vain the fever'd cheek?
Low let them rest, ye winds,
The heart now rests in peace.
How vainly, while the tortur'd bosom heav'd,
Restless as waves that lash'd her sea-beat haunt,
We strove to cool that cheek
Which death too quickly chill'd!
Restless as waves that lash'd her sea-beat haunt,
We strove to cool that cheek
Which death too quickly chill'd!
Like wreaths of mist, that some lone rock o'erhang,
And seem intent to melt the crags away,
While with soft veil they hide
Its tempest-riven head;
And seem intent to melt the crags away,
While with soft veil they hide
Its tempest-riven head;
We hover'd round thee on the lonesome beach,
And sought to calm thy brow with dewy hand,
Thy wild unquiet eye
With pitying glances met.
And sought to calm thy brow with dewy hand,
Thy wild unquiet eye
With pitying glances met.
“O fly with us,” we whisper'd; “from glad hearts,
From mirthful bands that meet on moon-light shores,
We came to watch thee pace
This melancholy strand.
From mirthful bands that meet on moon-light shores,
We came to watch thee pace
This melancholy strand.
“A captive thou, an exile here confin'd;
But fatal passion to more galling chains,
To exile more unblest,
Thy blinded spirit dooms.
But fatal passion to more galling chains,
To exile more unblest,
Thy blinded spirit dooms.
“O fly with us; no dangerous choice we know,
Mild heavenly influence guides our gentle lives,
Obedient as yon tide,
Sway'd by the circling moon.
Mild heavenly influence guides our gentle lives,
Obedient as yon tide,
Sway'd by the circling moon.
“O fly with us, free, free as ocean gale,
To roam at large, releas'd from sorrow's power.”—
Ah no!—far happier scenes,
More blissful change, be thine!
To roam at large, releas'd from sorrow's power.”—
Ah no!—far happier scenes,
More blissful change, be thine!
377
Through fields of radiance let thy spirit stray,
While these fair relics, shrin'd in ocean's depth,
Shall gleam like purest pearl,
Caress'd by winds and waves.
While these fair relics, shrin'd in ocean's depth,
Shall gleam like purest pearl,
Caress'd by winds and waves.
| Phantasmion | |