A WISH
I would I were a rivulet, And I know where I would run! To Save, the chilly river, Where the market boats pass on; To see my dear one stand By the rudder; and whether the rose Which, at parting, I put in his hand, Warm with a kiss in it, blows; Whether it blows or withers: I pluckt it on Saturday; I gave it to him on Sunday; On Monday he went away. O. M.
XCV
A SERBIAN BEAUTY
'Tis the Kolo[[31]] that dances before the white house, And 'tis Stojan's fair sister, O fair, fair is she! Too fair she is truly, too fair, heaven knows, (God forgive her!) so cruel to be. The fair Vila, whom the wan clouds fondly follow O'er the mountain wherever she roam it, Is not fairer nor whiter than she. Her long soft eyelash is the wing of the swallow When the dew of the dawn trembles from it, And as dawn-stars her blue eyes to me: Her eyebrows so dark are the slender sea-leeches; Her rich-bloomed cheeks are the ripe river peaches, Her teeth are white pearls from the sea; Her lips are two half-open'd roses; And her breath the south wind, which discloses The sweetness that soothes the wild bee. She is tall as the larch, she is slender As any green bough the birds move; See her dance—'tis the peacock's full splendour! Hear her talk—'tis the coo of the dove! And, only but let her look tender— 'Tis all heaven melting down from above! O. M.
XCVI
SLEEPLESSNESS
Sleep will not take the place of Love, Nor keep the place from Sorrow. Oh, when the long nights slowly move To meet a lonely morrow, The burden of the broken days, The grief that on the bosom weighs, And all the heart oppresses, But lightly lies on restless eyes Love seals no more with kisses. O. M.