Classic Poem

TO DELIA .

N O second love shall e'er my heart surprise,
This solemn league did first our passion bind:
Thou, only thou, canst please thy lover's eyes,
Thy voice alone can soothe his troubled mind.

Oh that thy charms were only fair to me,
Displease all others, and secure my rest,
No need of envy, — let me happy be,
I little care, that others know me blest.

With thee, in gloomy deserts let me dwell,
Where never human footstep mark'd the ground;
Thou, light of life, all darkness canst expell,
And seem a world, with solitude around.

I say too much — my heedless words restore;
My tongue undoes me, in this loving hour;
Thou know'st thy strength, and thence insulting more,
Wilt make me feel the weight of all thy power.

Whate'er I feel, thy slave I will remain,
Nor fly the burthen, I am form'd to bear;
In chains I'll sit me down at Venus' fane,
She knows my wrongs, and will regard my prayer.