TO THE UNATTAINABLE
translated into English by: Laurence Hope (1865-1904)
- H, that my blood were water, thou athirst,
- And thou and I in some far Desert land,
- How would I shed it gladly, if but first
- It touched thy lips, before it reached the sand.
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- Once, -- Ah, the Gods were good to me, -- I threw
- Myself upon a poison snake, that crept
- Where my Beloved -- a lesser love we knew
- Than this which now consumes me wholly -- slept.
- But thou; Alas, what can I do for thee?
- By Fate, and thine own beauty, set above
- The need of all or any aid from me,
- Too high for service, as too far for love.
"To the Unattainable" is reprinted from India's Love Lyrics. Trans. Laurence Hope. New York: John Lane Co., 1906. |
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