Classic Poem

I LOVE to think this fragrant air
I breathe in the deep-bosomed night
Has mixed with beauty and may bear
The burden of a heart's delight.

This may have been the burning breath
That uttered Deirdre's love. It may
Have been a note outlasting death
As Sappho sang her heart away.

It may have fanned a joy so deep
That Ilium must pay the price,
And under desert sand must sleep
Heroes and towers in sacrifice.

And this rich air, it may have been—
To bring these dreams, so sweet a throng—
Sighed by the lovely listening queen
While Solomon had sung his song.

So it will take from me, from thee,
Ere from our being it departs,
And keep for lovers yet to be
All the enchantment of our hearts.