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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


TO SYLVIA by AMY LEVY

First Line: O LOVE, LEAN THOU THY CHEEK TO MINE
Last Line: ONE GOLDEN HOUR.
Subject(s): LOVE;

"O LOVE, lean thou thy cheek to mine,
And let the tears together flow" --
Such was the song you sang to me
Once, long ago.

Such was the song you sang ; and yet
(O be not wroth !) I scarcely knew
What sounds flow'd forth ; I only felt
That you were you.

I scarcely knew your hair was gold,
Nor of the heavens' own blue your eyes.
Sylvia and song, divinely mixt,
Made Paradise.

These things I scarcely knew ; to-day,
When love is lost and hope is fled,
The song you sang so long ago
Rings in my head.

Clear comes each note and true ; to-day,
As in a picture I behold
Your tur'd-up chin, and small, sweet head
Misty with gold.

I see how your dear eyes grew deep,
How your lithe body thrilled and swayed,
And how were whiter than the keys
Your hands that played. . . .

Ah, sweetest ! cruel have you been,
And robbed my life of many things.
I will not chide ; ere this I knew
That Love had wings.

You've robbed my life of many things --
Of love and hope, of fame and pow'r.
So be it, sweet. You cannot steal
One golden hour.




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