Page:Hesperides Vol 2.djvu/94

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794. POETRY PERPETUATES THE POET.

Here I myself might likewise die,
And utterly forgotten lie,
But that eternal poetry
Repullulation gives me here
Unto the thirtieth thousand year,
When all now dead shall reappear.
Repullulation, rejuvenescence.
Thirtieth thousand year, an allusion to the doctrine of the Platonic year.


797. KISSES.

Give me the food that satisfies a guest:
Kisses are but dry banquets to a feast.


798. ORPHEUS.

Orpheus he went, as poets tell,
To fetch Eurydice from hell;
And had her; but it was upon
This short but strict condition:
Backward he should not look while he
Led her through hell's obscurity:
But ah! it happened, as he made
His passage through that dreadful shade,
Revolve he did his loving eye,
For gentle fear or jealousy;
And looking back, that look did sever
Him and Eurydice for ever.