Classic Poem

P. B. S HELLEY and L AURENCE Hope Meet in a Pantoum .

I swoon, I sink, I fall —
Your beauty overpowers me;
I am a prey to all
The yearning that devours me.

Your beauty overpowers me —
It never gives me rest;
The yearning that devours me
Is loud within my breast.

It never gives me rest.
And tho' a wilder ringing
Is loud within my breast,
I have no heart for singing.

And tho' a wilder ringing
Comes ever and again,
I have no heart for singing
And Music is a pain...

Comes ever and again
The vision of your beauty;
And Music is a pain,
And Life a weary duty.

The vision of your beauty
Arises everywhere;
And Life — a weary duty —
Is more than I can bear.

Arises everywhere
Your face. Your subtle splendor
Is more than I can bear —
Oh love, be not so tender...

Your face, your subtle splendor —
I am a prey to all...
Oh love, be not so tender!
I swoon, I sink, I fall.