Page:Poems by William Wordsworth (1815) Volume 1.djvu/287

227 Thou know'st, the Delphic oracle foretold

That the first Greek who touch'd the Trojan strand

Should die; but me the threat did not withhold:

A generous cause a Victim did demand;

And forth I leapt upon the sandy plain;

A self-devoted Chief—by Hector slain."

"Supreme of Heroes—bravest, noblest, best!

Thy matchless courage I bewail no more,

That then, when tens of thousands were deprest

By doubt, propelled thee to the fatal shore:

Thou found'st—and I forgive thee—here thou art—

A nobler counsellor than my poor heart.

But thou, though capable of sternest deed,

Wert kind as resolute, and good as brave;

And he, whose power restores thee, hath decreed

That thou shouldst cheat the malice of the grave;

Redundant are thy locks, thy lips as fair

As when their breath enriched Thessalian air.

No Spectre greets me,—no vain Shadow this:

Come, blooming Hero, place thee by my side!

Give, on this well-known couch, one nuptial kiss

To me, this day, a second time thy bride!"

Jove frowned in heaven; the conscious Parcæ threw

Upon those roseate lips a Stygian hue.