Page:Poems - Southey (1799) volume 1.djvu/61

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

45

SAPPHO.

A MONODRAMA.

Scene the promontory of Leucadia.

This is the spot:—'tis here Tradition saysThat hopeless Love from this high towering rockLeaps headlong to Oblivion or to Death.Oh 'tis a giddy height! my dizzy headSwims at the precipice—'tis death to fall!
Lie still, thou coward heart! this is no timeTo shake with thy strong throbs the frame convuls'd.To die,—to be at rest—oh pleasant thought!Perchance to leap and live; the soul all still,And the wild tempest of the passions hushtIn one deep calm; the heart, no more diseas'dBy the quick ague fits of hope and fear,Quietly cold!
This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.