Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


SAPPHO AND PHAON: 25. TO PHAON by MARY DARBY ROBINSON

First Line: CAN'ST THOU FORGET, O! IDOL OF MY SOUL!
Last Line: A BLIGHTED LAUREL, AND A MOLDERING TOMB!

Can'st thou forget, O! Idol of my soul!
Thy Sappho's voice, her form, her dulcet lyre!
That melting every thought to fond desire,
Bade sweet delirium o'er thy senses roll?
Can'st thou, so soon, renounce the blessed control
That calmed with pity's tears love's raging fire,
While Hope, slow breathing on the trembling wire,
In every note with soft persuasion stole?
Oh! Sovereign of my heart! return! return!
For me no spring appears, no summers bloom,
No sunbeams glitter, and no altars burn!
The mind's dark winter of eternal gloom,
Shows 'midst the waste a solitary urn,
A blighted laurel, and a moldering tomb!



Home: PoetryExplorer.net