Thou litst in me a fire as hot,
As burns earth’s central zone,
But now that fire unfed by thee,
Feeds on itself alone.
As burns earth’s central zone,
But now that fire unfed by thee,
Feeds on itself alone.
I thought with thee on love to feast,
Now crumbs are all my share,
What wonder if in lonely grief,
My face is shrunk with care.
Now crumbs are all my share,
What wonder if in lonely grief,
My face is shrunk with care.
But human hearts can suffer much,
And sickness tames their might,
And I, i’ faith, can scarcely say,
If mine be day or night.
And sickness tames their might,
And I, i’ faith, can scarcely say,
If mine be day or night.
Thus is it writ. And day and night
Eternally are fleeting,
And only one brief kiss is theirs,
In twilight’s hour of meeting.
Eternally are fleeting,
And only one brief kiss is theirs,
In twilight’s hour of meeting.
IV
What boots it that yon nightingale
So sweetly sings to me, love,
When this estranged heart of mine,
Dallies alone with thee, love?
What boots it that yon nightingale
So sweetly sings to me, love,
When this estranged heart of mine,
Dallies alone with thee, love?
Ah! were his song that charms the sense,
The sweetest e’er created,
What boots it—when my soul with thee,
And thy sweet soul is sated?
The sweetest e’er created,
What boots it—when my soul with thee,
And thy sweet soul is sated?
Ah! little mortal man suspects,
How sweet ’tis thus to adore thee,
I’d drag the stars from heaven to thee,
And sell my soul, love, for thee.
How sweet ’tis thus to adore thee,
I’d drag the stars from heaven to thee,
And sell my soul, love, for thee.
V
It seemed to me that thou wert dead,
I heard the death-knell tolling,
And through the air a voice of woe,
And lamentation rolling.
It seemed to me that thou wert dead,
I heard the death-knell tolling,
And through the air a voice of woe,
And lamentation rolling.
2*
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