Thou wast all that to me, love
For which my soul did pine
A green isle in the sea, love
A fountain and a shrine
All wreathed with fairy fruits and flowers
And all the flowers were mine
Ah, dream too bright to last
Ah, starry hope that didst arise
But to be overcast!
A voice from out the Future cries,
Onward o'er the past
(Dim guilt!) my spirit hovering lies
Mute - emotionless - aghast!
For alas! alas! with me
The light of life is over
"No more - no more - no more."
(Such language holds the solemn sea
To sands upon the shore)
Shall bloom the thunder-blasted free
Or stricken eagle soar!
Now all my hours are trances
And all my nightly dreams
Are where thy dark eye glances
And where thy footstep gleams
In what ethereal dances
By what Italian streams
Alas! for that accursed time
They bore thee over the billow
From Love, to titled age and crime
And an unholy pillow!
From me, and from our misty clime
Where weeps the silver willow!