Classic Poem

False is she, breaker of all promises,
The heart's unending malady is she;
All this and more she is,
And she herself the only remedy.

Only in visions can I come again
To the Beloved, and a shade she seems;
My lips desire in vain
The touch of ghostly kisses,
The shadowy kisses that I know in dreams.

O kind imagination, thou hast given
Eyes to my heart, and though She veil her grace
Fold behind fold, they seek the hidden heaven,
They find the secret beauties of her face.

I did not weep until my heart was lost,
So strange the bartering of love appears,
I gave the shining jewel of my soul
To buy these pearls — my tears.

The eyes say in reproach, O wayward heart,
What road of ruin hast thou led us in!
The heart complains, O eyes,
Beguiled yourselves, ye lured me into sin.