Page:Landon in Literary Gazette 1823.pdf/47



But the heart feels so desolate, when all That memory fondly treasures is afar— Oh this is absence! lanthe. 			Nay, nay, I must claim My own full share of sorrow. Do you think That it was nothing to look round and see Every thing changed, yet still the very same, Then feel the change was in my heart? to live 'Mid doubts, anxieties, and feverish hopes, And such soul sickening fears? I heard the fleet Had left Dalmatia; and that very day How dark the tempest gathered o'er the sky— The wind came like a giant in its strength, The forest pines were bowed down to the ground, The oak, which had for ages stood, where sleep My ancestors—the sign our banners rear— Was blasted by the lightning, and all said Some doomed ill was hanging o'er our race. I only thought of thee: all day I sat And watched the crashing trees, the flooded plains; The night came on—the storm was at its worst— The thunder shook the earth,—and then the flash Glared like an angry demon, and more deep And black became the moonless heaven; fierce gales Went shrieking by,—in every gust I heard The cry of drowning wretches, the last scream Heard 'mid the closing waters. Guido. 			Why, thou'rt pale! I must not let remembered fears thus blanch Thy cheek, mine own ; we will talk Of nothing but sweet fancies, pleasant hopes. Oh mark how placidly the moonlight falls Over that jasmine palace, where the rose Sits like a queen, with her pearl crown of dew; Its moss and violet seat was made for love. Come sit thee in the shade, and let me tell Of a fair spot, which has been in my dreams Ever since I have seen it. lanthe. 			Nay, Guido, now Prepare thee for reproach: what, think and dream Of any thing but me? I am a miser Of all thy thoughts and words, and looks and feelings— Oh, I am jealous of a leaf, a flower, A song, a star, if much thought on by thee!