Ay, gaze upon her rose-wreath’d hair,
And gaze upon her smile;
Seem as you drank the very air
Her breath perfumed the while;
And wake for her the gifted line,
That wild and witching lay,
And swear your heart is as a shrine,
That only holds her sway.
‘Tis well: I am revenged at last;—
Mark you that scornful cheek,—
The eye averted as you pass’d,
Spoke more than words could speak.
Ay, now by all the bitter tears
That I have shed for thee,—
The racking doubts, the burning fears,—
Avenged they well may be—
By the nights pass’d in sleepless care,
The days of endless woe;
All that you taught my heart to bear,
All that yourself will know.
I would not wish to see you laid
Within an early tomb;
I should forget how you betray’d,
And only weep your doom:
But this is fitting punishment,
To live and love in vain,—
O my wrung heart, be thou content,
And feed upon his pain.
Go thou and watch her lightest sigh,—
Thine own it will not be;
And bask beneath her sunny eye,—
It will not turn on thee.
‘Tis well: the rack, the chain, the wheel,
Far better hadst thou proved;
Ev’n I could almost pity feel,
For thou art nor beloved.
(Letitia Elizabeth Landon)
More Poetry from Letitia Elizabeth Landon:
Letitia Elizabeth Landon Poems based on Topics: Night, Hair, Smiling, Art, Pain, Speaking, Doubt & Skepticism, Punishment- The Troubadour. Canto 1 (Letitia Elizabeth Landon Poems)
- The Fairy Of The Fountains (Letitia Elizabeth Landon Poems)
- The Ruined Cottage (Letitia Elizabeth Landon Poems)
- She Sat Alone Beside Her Hearth (Letitia Elizabeth Landon Poems)
- The Reply Of The Fountain (Letitia Elizabeth Landon Poems)
- Sir Walter Scott (Letitia Elizabeth Landon Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Night Poems, Pain Poems, Smiling Poems, Art Poems, Hair Poems, Speaking Poems, Doubt & Skepticism Poems, Punishment PoemsBased on Keywords: vain-, revenged, fears-, cheek-, sigh-, rose-wreath