Etchings in Verse (Underhill)/If

by Andrew Findlay Underhill

IF.

O FAIR Élise, if thou couldst know
 The mischief thou hast done my heart!
If I dared whisper soft, and low!
 If thou couldst know—
If thou wouldst comprehend in part,
  How happy I
  To hear thee sigh
In pity there, O fair Élise.

Then like the golden sunset bright
My life would beam with warmest light;
 And in these arms, O love my own!
 Clasped close—shut out from grief and moan,
  I, more than blest,
  Would hold thee pressed,
            O fair Élise.