OH! do not rudely wake her, nor reproach Those pulsing limbs for this hostility To timid life, that cast in death-like way What he had moulded for his ecstasy. Nay! rather pity one so keen to leave For swift oblivion that alluring world, Whose morning sun doth seek with gentle breath To lift the lashes on her soft cheek curled. Sleep! enemy of life, and jealous foe Of this earth's joys, now holds her to his kiss. Then let her lie; hers is a goodly choice That finds in dreams a world more fair than this. |