O Atthis, how I loved thee long ago
In that fair perished summer by the sea!
XXIV
I shall be ever maiden,
If thou be not my lover,
And no man shall possess me
Henceforth and forever.
But thou alone shalt gather 5
This fragile flower of beauty,--
To crush and keep the fragrance
Like a holy incense.
Thou only shalt remember
This love of mine, or hallow 10
The coming years with gladness,
Calm and pride and passion.
XXV
It was summer when I found you
In the meadow long ago,--
And the golden vetch was growing
By the shore.
Did we falter when love took us 5
With a gust of great desire?
Does the barley bid the wind wait
In his course?
XXVI
I recall thy white gown, cinctured
With a linen belt, whereon
Violets were wrought, and scented
With strange perfumes out of Egypt.
And I know thy foot was covered 5
With fair Lydian broidered straps;
And the petals from a rose-tree
Fell within the marble basin.
XXVII
Lover, art thou of a surety
Not a learner of the wood-god?
Has the madness of his music
Never touched thee?
Ah, thou dear and godlike mortal, 5
If Pan takes thee for his pupil,
Make me but another Syrinx
For that piping.
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