DELIA, the unkindest girl on earth,
When I besought the fair,
That favour of intrinsic worth, A ringlet of her hair,— Refused that instant to comply With my absurd request, For reasons she could specify, Some twenty score at least. Trust me, my dear, however odd It may appear to say, I sought it merely to defraud Thy spoiler of his prey.
Yet when its sister locks shall fade, As quickly fade they must, When all their beauties are decay'd, Their gloss, their colour, lost―
Ah then! if haply to my share Some slender pittance fall, If I but gain one single hair, Nor age usurp them all ;— When you behold it still as sleek, As lovely to the view,
As when it left thy snowy neck,- That Eden where it grew,-
Then shall my Delia's self declare That I profess'd the truth,
And have preserved my little share In everlasting youth.
THIS evening, Delia, you and I Have managed most delightfully, For with a frown we parted; Having contrived some trifle that We both may be much troubled at, And sadly disconcerted.
Yet well as each perform'd their part, We might perceive it was but art; And that we both intended To sacrifice a little ease;
For all such petty flaws as these Are made but to be mended.
You knew, dissembler! all the while, How sweet it was to reconcile After this heavy pelt;
That we should gain by this allay When next we met, and laugh away The care we never felt.
Happy! when we but seek to endure A little pain, then find a cure By double joy requited;
For friendship, like a severed bone, Improves and joins a stronger tone When aptly reunited.
WRITTEN IN A QUARREL.
(THE DELIVERY OF IT PREVENTED BY A RECONCILIATION.)
THINK, Delia, with what cruel haste Our fleeting pleasures move, Nor heedless thus in sorrow waste The moments due to love;
Be wise, my fair, and gently treat These few that are our friends Think thus abused, what sad regret Their speedy flight attends! Sure in those I loved so well,
And wish'd so long to see, Anger I thought could never dwell, Or anger aim'd at me.
No bold offence of mine I knew Should e'er provoke your hate; And, early taught to think you true, Still hoped a gentler fate.
With kindness bless the present hour,
Or oh! we meet in vain!
What can we do in absence more Than suffer and complain?
Fated to ills beyond redress, We must endure our woe; The days allow'd us to possess, 'Tis madness to forego.
THE SYMPTOMS OF LOVE.
WOULD my Delia know if I love, let her take My last thought at night, and the first when I wake; With my prayers and best wishes preferr❜d for her sake.
Let her guess what I muse on, when rambling alone I stride o'er the stubble each day with my gun, Never ready to shoot till the covey is flown.
Let her think what odd whimsies I have in my brain, When I read one page over and over again, And discover at last that I read it in vain.
Let her say why so fix'd and so steady my look, Without ever regarding the person who spoke, Still affecting to laugh, without hearing the joke. Or why when with pleasure her praises I hear, (That sweetest of melody sure to my ear,) I attend, and at once inattentive appear.
And lastly, when summon'd to drink to my flame, Let her guess why I never once mention her name, Though herself and the woman I love are the same.
SEE where the Thames, the purest stream That wavers to the noon-day beam,
Divides the vale below; While like a vein of liquid ore His waves enrich the happy shore, Still shining as they flow.
Nor yet, my Delia, to the main Runs the sweet tide without a stain, Unsullied as it seems;
The nymphs of many a sable flood Deform with streaks of oozy mud The bosom of the Thames.
Some idle rivulets, that feed And suckle ev'ry noisome weed, A sandy bottom boast; For ever bright, for ever clear, The trifling shallow rills appear In their own channel lost.
Thus fares it with the human soul, Where copious floods of passion roll, By genuine love supplied; Fair in itself the current shows, But ah! a thousand anxious woes Pollute the noble tide.
These are emotions known to few; For where at most a vapoury dew Surrounds the tranquil heart, Then as the triflers never prove The glad excess of real love, They never prove the smart.
O then my life, at last relent! Though cruel the reproach I sent, My sorrow was unfeign'd: Your passion, had I loved you not, You might have scorn'd, renounced, forgot, And I had ne'er complain'd.
While you indulge a groundless fear, The imaginary woes you bear
Are real woes to me:
But thou art kind, and good thou art, Nor wilt, by wronging thine own heart, Unjustly punish me.
How bless'd the youth whom fate ordains A kind relief from all his pains,
In some admired fair;
Whose tenderest wishes find express'd
Their own resemblance in her breast, Exactly copied there!
What good soe'er the gods dispense, The enjoyment of its influence Still on her love depends;
Her love the shield that guards his heart, Or wards the blow, or blunts the dart That peevish Fortune sends.
Thus, Delia, while thy love endures, The flame my happy breast secures From fortune's fickle power; Change as she list, she may increase, But not abate my happiness,
Confirm'd by thee before.
Thus while I share her smiles with thee, Welcome, my love, shall ever be
The favours she bestows; Yet not on those I found my bliss, But in the noble ecstasies
The faithful bosom knows.
And when she prunes her wings for flight, And flutters nimbly from my sight, Contented I resign
Whate'er she gave; thy love alone I can securely call my own, Happy while that is mine.
BID adieu, my sad heart, bid adieu to thy peace! Thy pleasure is past, and thy sorrows increase e; See the shadows of evening how far they extend, And a long night is coming, that never may end;
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