Mandragora/Obsession

by John Cowper Powys

For works with similar titles, see Obsession.

OBSESSION

OH, take away those haunting eyes
  That come with the moonlight still.
When the heavy clouds forsake the skies,
   And the rain goes over the hill.

Oh, take away what that lovely hand
   On the wild sea-margin writ.
Let the wind hide it in the sand
   And the sea roll over it!

Oh, lost one, lost one, of whom I dreamed!
   On the long white road 'twas you
Who always before me wavered and gleamed,
   Who always towards me turned and seemed
The heart's desire come true.

By lonely bridges where ancient floods
   Flowed towards lands unknown,
'Twas you, O child of a thousand moods,
   Who waited for me alone!

But now, oh now that you've touched me and fled
   The long white roads grow cold;
And the water at every bridge's head
   Flows darker than of old.

Oh, take away those haunting eyes
   That come with the moonlight still.
Let the heavy clouds cover the skies
   And the rain cover the hill!