New poems and variant readings/My heart, when first the blackbird sings

by Robert Louis Stevenson

MY HEART, WHEN FIRST THE BLACKBIRD SINGS

My heart, when first the blackbird sings,
My heart drinks in the song:
Cool pleasure fills my bosom through
And spreads each nerve along.

My bosom eddies quietly,
My heart is stirred and cool
As when a wind-moved briar sweeps
A stone into a pool.

But unto thee, when thee I meet,
My pulses thicken fast,
As when the maddened lake grows black
And ruffles in the blast.