FROM LEBEDEF.
THEODORA.
“So thou art he who yesterdayDidst round the arena roam—Thy rivals scourge? thy chariot smoked,Reeking with bloody foam.“Now thou art mine! Upon this couchRecline and yield to me,Until the morning’s rosy lightMy palace windows see.”“Ah, Theodora, ne’er beforeHave I thy threshold passed;Thy cups of gold amaze my sight,Thy fretted ceilings vast.“Yet I know all. Through our stern landThe talk of thee has sped;How every night a new ElectAppears beside this bed.“How, till the dawn, with burning kissThe lips of lovers sting;While to the folds of Eastern stuffsThe Eastern odours cling.“But I, a simple country clown,A common clod, who sportIn games with Death, am all unusedTo splendours of a Court.“Thy pardon! But it seems to meThat burning Lust doth streamIn this blue odour’s upward curl,From yon bright marble’s gleam.“Nay, Theodora, let me go!And keep thy whim’s rewardFor nobles of the Bosphorus!For slaves——”“Enough! Ho, Guard!”
“So thou art he who yesterdayDidst round the arena roam—Thy rivals scourge? thy chariot smoked,Reeking with bloody foam.“Now thou art mine! Upon this couchRecline and yield to me,Until the morning’s rosy lightMy palace windows see.”“Ah, Theodora, ne’er beforeHave I thy threshold passed;Thy cups of gold amaze my sight,Thy fretted ceilings vast.“Yet I know all. Through our stern landThe talk of thee has sped;How every night a new ElectAppears beside this bed.“How, till the dawn, with burning kissThe lips of lovers sting;While to the folds of Eastern stuffsThe Eastern odours cling.“But I, a simple country clown,A common clod, who sportIn games with Death, am all unusedTo splendours of a Court.“Thy pardon! But it seems to meThat burning Lust doth streamIn this blue odour’s upward curl,From yon bright marble’s gleam.“Nay, Theodora, let me go!And keep thy whim’s rewardFor nobles of the Bosphorus!For slaves——”“Enough! Ho, Guard!”
“So thou art he who yesterdayDidst round the arena roam—Thy rivals scourge? thy chariot smoked,Reeking with bloody foam.
“So thou art he who yesterday
Didst round the arena roam—
Thy rivals scourge? thy chariot smoked,
Reeking with bloody foam.
“Now thou art mine! Upon this couchRecline and yield to me,Until the morning’s rosy lightMy palace windows see.”
“Now thou art mine! Upon this couch
Recline and yield to me,
Until the morning’s rosy light
My palace windows see.”
“Ah, Theodora, ne’er beforeHave I thy threshold passed;Thy cups of gold amaze my sight,Thy fretted ceilings vast.
“Ah, Theodora, ne’er before
Have I thy threshold passed;
Thy cups of gold amaze my sight,
Thy fretted ceilings vast.
“Yet I know all. Through our stern landThe talk of thee has sped;How every night a new ElectAppears beside this bed.
“Yet I know all. Through our stern land
The talk of thee has sped;
How every night a new Elect
Appears beside this bed.
“How, till the dawn, with burning kissThe lips of lovers sting;While to the folds of Eastern stuffsThe Eastern odours cling.
“How, till the dawn, with burning kiss
The lips of lovers sting;
While to the folds of Eastern stuffs
The Eastern odours cling.
“But I, a simple country clown,A common clod, who sportIn games with Death, am all unusedTo splendours of a Court.
“But I, a simple country clown,
A common clod, who sport
In games with Death, am all unused
To splendours of a Court.
“Thy pardon! But it seems to meThat burning Lust doth streamIn this blue odour’s upward curl,From yon bright marble’s gleam.
“Thy pardon! But it seems to me
That burning Lust doth stream
In this blue odour’s upward curl,
From yon bright marble’s gleam.
“Nay, Theodora, let me go!And keep thy whim’s rewardFor nobles of the Bosphorus!For slaves——”
“Nay, Theodora, let me go!
And keep thy whim’s reward
For nobles of the Bosphorus!
For slaves——”
“Enough! Ho, Guard!”
“Enough! Ho, Guard!”