My Cleopatra, queen, alas the day Thy lustrous eyes proclaimed such bitter doom! That shame and Antony should live for aye, An epitaph on Time's enduring tomb! Soft-coiling serpent! Thy enticing wiles Hold heroes captive in strong toils of grace; For power is lost in pa**ion, as fond smiles Light up the matchless beauty of thy face. Cold duty summons; but, enchantress fair, My courage melts beneath thy glowing eyes; And in thine arms I neither reck nor care If Roman honor lives or basely dies. Let Fame's rich pearl dissolve in nectar bright! Farewell to valor—day is lost in night.