Anna Laetitia Barbauld (Анна-Летиция Барбо)
Song 2 (IF ever thou didst joy to bind)
IF ever thou didst joy to bind
Two hearts in equal pasion join'd,
O son of Venus! hear me now,
And bid Florella bless my vow.
If any bliss reserv'd for me
Thou in the leaves of fate should'st see;
If any white propitious hour,
Pregnant with hoarded joys in store;
Now, now the mighty treasure give,
In her for whom alone I live;
In sterling love pay all the sum,
And I'll absolve the fates to come.
In all the pride of full-blown charms
Yield her, relenting, to my arms:
Her bosom touch with soft desires,
And let her feel what she inspires.
But, Cupid, if thine aid be vain
The dear reluctant maid to gain;
If still with cold averted eyes
She dash my hopes, and scorn my sighs;
O! grant ('tis all I ask of thee)
That I no more may change than she;
But still with duteous zeal love on,
When every gleam of hope is gone.
Leave me then alone to languish;
Think not time can heal my anguish;
Pity the woes which I endure;
But never, never grant a cure.
Anna Laetitia Barbauld’s other poems:
- Song 6 (WHEN first upon your tender cheek)
- Song 4 (WHEN gentle Celia first I knew)
- Hymn 5 (AWAKE, my soul! lift up thine eyes)
- Song 5 (AS near a weeping spring reclin’d)
- Backwardness of the Spring 1771
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