AMARILLIS a late And too loving bride, Sad that her dear mate Should part from her side, And grieving to want What only she loves, Did follow unseen Her friend to the groves: And seeking her shepherd In every shade, First meeting his voice Overheard what he said. 'Thou joy of my life, First love of my youth, Thou safest of pleasures And fullest of truth, Thou purest of Nymphs And never more fair, Breathe this way and cool me, Thou pitying Air! Come hither and hover On every part, Thou life of my sense And joy of my heart.' Poor Amarillis, As soon as her fears The words of the shepherd Convey'd to her ears, Her hands and her eye To heaven doth move, As full of her grief As before of her love: Believing her shepherd Had made this fond prayer To some rival Nymph, And not to the Air. She says in herself, 'Ah! too too unkind, Whom neither thy vows Nor my loyalty bind, Those moods could not show thee Such truth without art, These deserts have taught thee So savage a heart. Bend hither thine arrows If they seek a prey, Or if you seek love Then this is the way.' The shepherd who heard The leaves as she mov'd, Makes ready a shaft To shoot in the wood: And sending an arrow Not guided by sight, Doth pierce the poor Nymph With the too cruel flight. She pardons, but prays him Though never so fair, Her place may be never Succeeded by Air. The shepherd confused With his terrible fate, The wood, and the air, And himself he doth hate. He swears that he wooed But the breath of the wind, And that Amarillis Was then in his mind: She hears the mistake, He curses his dart, She dies in her limbs, Revived in her heart. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A WINTER WISH by ROBERT HINCKLEY MESSINGER FRAGMENTS INTENDED FOR DEATH'S JEST-BOOK: DIRGE by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES THE CAPTAIN by JOHN GARDINER CALKINS BRAINARD GHELUVELT; EPITAPH ON THE WORCESTERS by ROBERT SEYMOUR BRIDGES |