Poems, Chiefly Lyrical/Hero to Leander
HERO TO LEANDER.
Оh go not yet, my love,The night is dark and vast;The white moon is hid in her heaven above,And the waves climb high and fast.Oh! kiss me, kiss me, once again,Lest thy kiss should be the last.Oh kiss me ere we part;Grow closer to my heart.My heart is warmer surely than the bosom of the main.
O joy! O bliss of blisses!My heart of hearts art thou.Come bathe me with thy kisses,My eyelids and my brow.Hark how the wild rain hisses,And the loud sea roars below.
Thy heart beats through thy rosy limbs,So gladly doth it stir;Thine eye in drops of gladness swims.I have bathed thee with the pleasant myrrh;Thy locks are dripping balm;Thou shalt not wander hence to-night,I'll stay thee with my kisses.To-night the roaring brineWill rend thy golden tresses;The ocean with the morrow lightWill be both blue and calm;And the billow will embrace thee with a kiss as soft as mine.
No western odours wanderOn the black and moaning sea,And when thou art dead, Leander,My soul must follow thee!Oh go not yet, my love,Thy voice is sweet and low;The deep salt wave breaks in aboveThose marble steps below.The turretstairs are wetThat lead into the sea.Leander! go not yet.The pleasant stars have set:Oh! go not, go not yet,Or I will follow thee.