@3Orpheus.@1 EURYDICE, my fair, my fair Eurydice! My love, my joy, my life, if so thou be In Pluto's kingdom answer me; appear And come to thy poor Orpheus.----- @3Eur.@1 Oh, I hear, I hear, dear Orpheus, but I cannot come Beyond the bounds of dull Elysium. I cannot----- @3Orph.@1 And why wilt thou not draw near? Is there within these courts a shade so dear As he that calls thee? @3Eur.@1 No, there cannot be A thing so lovely in mine eyes as thee. @3Orph.@1 Why comes not then Eurydice? @3Eur.@1 The Fates, The Fates forbid, and these eternal gates, Never unbarr'd to let a pris'ner go, Deny me passage; nay, grim Cerberus too Stands at the door----- @3Orph.@1 But cannot then They that o'er Lethe go, return again? @3Eur.@1 Never, oh never! ----- @3Orph.@1 Sure they may, let's try If Art can null the Laws of Destiny. My lays compacted Thebes, made every tree Loosen its roots to caper; come let's see What thou and I can do. @3Chor.@1 Perchance the throng Of Ghosts may be enchanted with a song, And mov'd to pity. ----- @3Eur.@1 Hark! the hinges move, The gate's unbarr'd. I come, I come, my Love! @3Chorus amborum.@1 'Twas Music, only Music, could unspell Helpless, undone Eurydice from Hell. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HAPPINESS THROUGH THE YEAR by J. MARGARET CRUTE ASHCRAFT PLAY by CHARLES STUART CALVERLEY TECUMSEH AND THE EAGLES by BLISS CARMAN THE WORLD NOT OUR REST, &C by MARIA FRANCES CECILIA (MADAN) COWPER |