Classic Poem

I.

Twilight was on the fountains,
The sun had sunk to rest
Behind those giant mountains
That crimson'd in the West:
The helmsman sought his towers,
To guide him from afar;
The maiden sought her bowers
To hear one fond guitar.

II.

Selina wander'd lonely
Through th' appointed grove,
To meet the youth that only
Her womanish heart could love;
No star shone forth to guide her,
All, all was drear and dim,
She felt one rush beside her,
But, ah! it was not him.

III.

" No fate, no danger heeding,
" You nurs'd my infant sighs —
" Thy love — thy swain lies bleeding —
" Haste, ere thy Azim dies.
" The wood that fronts the river —
" Life lingers in his breast —
" This bow had once a quiver —
" There fly, and guess the rest. "

IV.

She flew! — the speed of lightning
Could not outstrip her flight —
Those eyes, that late were bright'ning,
Were sinking fast in night;
The shaft was lying near him —
She seiz'd the fatal dart —
All that could to life endear him
Sunk, lifeless, on his heart.