Page:The Works of Lord Byron (ed. Coleridge, Prothero) - Volume 1.djvu/328

286 2.

But could I be what I have been,

And could I see what I have seen—

Could I repose upon the breast

Which once my warmest wishes blest—

I should not seek another zone,

Because I cannot love but one.

3.

'Tis long since I beheld that eye

Which gave me bliss or misery;

And I have striven, but in vain,

Never to think of it again:

For though I fly from Albion,

I still can only love but one.

4.

As some lone bird, without a mate,

My weary heart is desolate;

I look around, and cannot trace

One friendly smile or welcome face,

And ev'n in crowds am still alone,

Because I cannot love but one.

5.

And I will cross the whitening foam,

And I will seek a foreign home;