1. ۱O SORROW!
2. ۲ Why dost borrow
3. ۳ The natural hue of health, from vermeil lips?--
4. ۴ To give maiden blushes
5. ۵ To the white rose bushes?
6. ۶ Or is it thy dewy hand the daisy tips?
7. ۷
8. ۸ O Sorrow!
9. ۹ Why dost borrow
10. ۱۰ The lustrous passion from a falcon-eye?--
11. ۱۱ To give the glow-worm light?
12. ۱۲ Or, on a moonless night,
13. ۱۳ To tinge, on siren shores, the salt sea-spry?
14. ۱۴
15. ۱۵ O Sorrow!
16. ۱۶ Why dost borrow
17. ۱۷ The mellow ditties from a mourning tongue?--
18. ۱۸ To give at evening pale
19. ۱۹ Unto the nightingale,
20. ۲۰ That thou mayst listen the cold dews among?
21. ۲۱
22. ۲۲ O Sorrow!
23. ۲۳ Why dost borrow
24. ۲۴ Heart's lightness from the merriment of May?--
25. ۲۵ A lover would not tread
26. ۲۶ A cowslip on the head,
27. ۲۷ Though he should dance from eve till peep of day--
28. ۲۸ Nor any drooping flower
29. ۲۹ Held sacred for thy bower,
30. ۳۰ Wherever he may sport himself and play.
31. ۳۱
32. ۳۲ To Sorrow
33. ۳۳ I bade good morrow,
34. ۳۴ And thought to leave her far away behind;
35. ۳۵ But cheerly, cheerly,
36. ۳۶ She loves me dearly;
37. ۳۷ She is so constant to me, and so kind:
38. ۳۸ I would deceive her
39. ۳۹ And so leave her,
40. ۴۰ But ah! she is so constant and so kind.
41. ۴۱
42. ۴۲Beneath my palm-trees, by the river side,
43. ۴۳I sat a-weeping: in the whole world wide
44. ۴۴There was no one to ask me why I wept,--
45. ۴۵ And so I kept
46. ۴۶Brimming the water-lily cups with tears
47. ۴۷ Cold as my fears.
48. ۴۸
49. ۴۹Beneath my palm-trees, by the river side,
50. ۵۰I sat a-weeping: what enamour'd bride,
51. ۵۱Cheated by shadowy wooer from the clouds,
52. ۵۲ But hides and shrouds
53. ۵۳Beneath dark palm-trees by a river side?
54. ۵۴
55. ۵۵And as I sat, over the light blue hills
56. ۵۶There came a noise of revellers: the rills
57. ۵۷Into the wide stream came of purple hue--
58. ۵۸ 'Twas Bacchus and his crew!
59. ۵۹The earnest trumpet spake, and silver thrills
60. ۶۰From kissing cymbals made a merry din--
61. ۶۱ 'Twas Bacchus and his kin!
62. ۶۲Like to a moving vintage down they came,
63. ۶۳Crown'd with green leaves, and faces all on flame;
64. ۶۴All madly dancing through the pleasant valley,
65. ۶۵ To scare thee, Melancholy!
66. ۶۶O then, O then, thou wast a simple name!
67. ۶۷And I forgot thee, as the berried holly
68. ۶۸By shepherds is forgotten, when in June
69. ۶۹Tall chestnuts keep away the sun and moon:--
70. ۷۰ I rush'd into the folly!
71. ۷۱
72. ۷۲Within his car, aloft, young Bacchus stood,
73. ۷۳Trifling his ivy-dart, in dancing mood,
74. ۷۴ With sidelong laughing;
75. ۷۵And little rills of crimson wine imbrued
76. ۷۶His plump white arms and shoulders, enough white
77. ۷۷ For Venus' pearly bite;
78. ۷۸And near him rode Silenus on his ...,
79. ۷۹Pelted with flowers as he on did pass
80. ۸۰ Tipsily quaffing.
81. ۸۱
82. ۸۲'Whence came ye, merry Damsels! whence came ye,
83. ۸۳So many, and so many, and such glee?
84. ۸۴Why have ye left your bowers desolate,
85. ۸۵ Your lutes, and gentler fate?'--
86. ۸۶'We follow Bacchus! Bacchus on the wing,
87. ۸۷ A-conquering!
88. ۸۸Bacchus, young Bacchus! good or ill betide,
89. ۸۹We dance before him thorough kingdoms wide:--
90. ۹۰Come hither, lady fair, and joined be
91. ۹۱ To our wild minstrelsy!'
92. ۹۲
93. ۹۳'Whence came ye, jolly Satyrs! whence came ye,
94. ۹۴So many, and so many, and such glee?
95. ۹۵Why have ye left your forest haunts, why left
96. ۹۶ Your nuts in oak-tree cleft?'--
97. ۹۷'For wine, for wine we left our kernel tree;
98. ۹۸For wine we left our heath, and yellow brooms,
99. ۹۹ And cold mushrooms;
100. ۱۰۰For wine we follow Bacchus through the earth;
101. ۱۰۱Great god of breathless cups and chirping mirth!
102. ۱۰۲Come hither, lady fair, and joined be
103. ۱۰۳ To our mad minstrelsy!'
104. ۱۰۴
105. ۱۰۵Over wide streams and mountains great we went,
106. ۱۰۶And, save when Bacchus kept his ivy tent,
107. ۱۰۷Onward the tiger and the leopard pants,
108. ۱۰۸ With Asian elephants:
109. ۱۰۹Onward these myriads--with song and dance,
110. ۱۱۰With zebras striped, and sleek Arabians' prance,
111. ۱۱۱Web-footed alligators, crocodiles,
112. ۱۱۲Bearing upon their scaly backs, in files,
113. ۱۱۳Plump infant laughers mimicking the coil
114. ۱۱۴Of seamen, and stout galley-rowers' toil:
115. ۱۱۵With toying oars and silken sails they glide,
116. ۱۱۶ Nor care for wind and tide.
117. ۱۱۷
118. ۱۱۸Mounted on panthers' furs and lions' manes,
119. ۱۱۹From rear to van they scour about the plains;
120. ۱۲۰A three days' journey in a moment done;
121. ۱۲۱And always, at the rising of the sun,
122. ۱۲۲About the wilds they hunt with spear and horn,
123. ۱۲۳ On spleenful unicorn.
124. ۱۲۴
125. ۱۲۵I saw Osirian Egypt kneel adown
126. ۱۲۶ Before the vine-wreath crown!
127. ۱۲۷I saw parch'd Abyssinia rouse and sing
128. ۱۲۸ To the silver cymbals' ring!
129. ۱۲۹I saw the whelming vintage hotly pierce
130. ۱۳۰ Old Tartary the fierce!
131. ۱۳۱The kings of Ind their jewel-sceptres vail,
132. ۱۳۲And from their treasures scatter pearled hail;
133. ۱۳۳Great Brahma from his mystic heaven groans,
134. ۱۳۴ And all his priesthood moans,
135. ۱۳۵Before young Bacchus' eye-wink turning pale.
136. ۱۳۶Into these regions came I, following him,
137. ۱۳۷Sick-hearted, weary--so I took a whim
138. ۱۳۸To stray away into these forests drear,
139. ۱۳۹ Alone, without a peer:
140. ۱۴۰And I have told thee all thou mayest hear.
141. ۱۴۱
142. ۱۴۲ Young Stranger!
143. ۱۴۳ I've been a ranger
144. ۱۴۴In search of pleasure throughout every clime;
145. ۱۴۵ Alas! 'tis not for me!
146. ۱۴۶ Bewitch'd I sure must be,
147. ۱۴۷To lose in grieving all my maiden prime.
148. ۱۴۸
149. ۱۴۹ Come then, Sorrow,
150. ۱۵۰ Sweetest Sorrow!
151. ۱۵۱Like an own babe I nurse thee on my ...:
152. ۱۵۲ I thought to leave thee,
153. ۱۵۳ And deceive thee,
154. ۱۵۴But now of all the world I love thee best.
155. ۱۵۵
156. ۱۵۶ There is not one,
157. ۱۵۷ No, no, not one
158. ۱۵۸But thee to comfort a poor lonely maid;
159. ۱۵۹ Thou art her mother,
160. ۱۶۰ And her brother,
161. ۱۶۱Her playmate, and her wooer in the shade.