Page:The Works of Lord Byron (ed. Coleridge, Prothero) - Volume 3.djvu/35

Rh 2.

And when by thee that name is read,

Perchance in some succeeding year,

Reflect on me as on the dead,

And think my Heart is buried here. Malta, September 14, 1809. [First published, Childe Harold, 1812 (4to).]

TO FLORENCE

1. Lady! when I left the shore,

The distant shore which gave me birth,

I hardly thought to grieve once more,

To quit another spot on earth:

2. Yet here, amidst this barren isle,

Where panting Nature droops the head,

Where only thou art seen to smile,

I view my parting hour with dread.

3. Though far from Albin's craggy shore,

Divided by the dark-blue main;

A few, brief, rolling seasons o'er,

Perchance I view her cliffs again:

4. But wheresoe'er I now may roam,

Through scorching clime, and varied sea,

Though Time restore me to my home,

I ne'er shall bend mine eyes on thee:

Variants