The Rao Of Ilore

A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904)

I was sold to the Rao of Ilore,

Slender and tall was he.

When his litter carried him down the street

I peeped through the thatch to see.

Ah, the eyes of the Rao of Ilore,

My lover that was to be!

The hair that lay on his youthful brow

Was curled like an ocean wave;

His eyes were lit with a tender smile,

But his lips were soft and grave.

For sake of these things I was still with joy

When the silver coins were paid,

And they took me up to the Palace gates,

Delighted and unafraid.

Ah, the eyes of the Rao of Ilore,

May never their brilliance fade!

So near was I to the crown of life!

Ten thousand times, alas!

The Diwan leant from the latticed hall,

Looked down and saw me pass.

He begged for me from the Rao of Ilore,

Who answered, “She is thine,

Thou wert ever more than a father to me,

And thy desires are mine.”

Ah, the eyes of the Rao of Ilore

That never had looked in mine!

My years were spent in the Diwan’s Courts,

My youth died down that day.

For sake of thine own content of mind

My lost beloved, I pray

That never my Lord a love may know

Like that he threw away.

Ah, the eyes of the Rao of Ilore,

Who threw my life away!

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Poems in English 

• Sonnet CXXX: My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet CXXX by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Winter by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• When to the sessions of sweet silent thought (Sonnet 30) by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• When that I was and a little tiny boy by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes (Sonnet 29) by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Venus and Adonis by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Under the Greenwood Tree by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Three Songs by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• The Quality of Mercy by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• The Phoenix and the Turtle by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Spring in New Hampshire by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnets CXVI: Let me not to the marriage of true minds by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet LXXI by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet LXX by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet LXVII by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet LXVI by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet LXV by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet LXIX by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet LXIV: When I Have Seen by Time’s Fell Hand Defac’d by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

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