 | Spindrift |  |
166
TO MYRTIS.
Nor ask I love, fair Myrtis, nor may give;
This only do I crave—nor thou deny:
That thou in sight of the high gods may live
A life so godlike, that unblamed I
This only do I crave—nor thou deny:
That thou in sight of the high gods may live
A life so godlike, that unblamed I
May dedicate to thee a sacred shrine
Of silent adoration in my heart,
Where thy clear image, robed in light divine,
May dwell, from earthly passion far apart.
Of silent adoration in my heart,
Where thy clear image, robed in light divine,
May dwell, from earthly passion far apart.
While every aspiration of my soul,
Each impulse of my being—purified
From “mortal grossness”—owns the sweet control
Of thy white maidhood, with submissive pride;—
Each impulse of my being—purified
From “mortal grossness”—owns the sweet control
Of thy white maidhood, with submissive pride;—
167
Even as beneath Selene's quiet eye
The fierce Euripus bows his foamy crest;—
So shall my discord in thy harmony,
My turmoil in thy maiden calm find rest.
The fierce Euripus bows his foamy crest;—
So shall my discord in thy harmony,
My turmoil in thy maiden calm find rest.
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