ENCHANTRESS of the South! Thy potent spoil
Still holds my heart enchainèd to thy love;
The sea-breeze wakes a fever in my blood,
And all my soul is crying out to thee!
Well I remember every golden hour
When, lying on thy breast, I drank full deep
Of those sweet joys which thou alone canst give.
My memories now, alas, are all I have:
Palms limned in black against the sky of rose
Set with a single star; the haunting voice
Of trade-winds, crooning legends strange and sad;
The moonlight shimmering on the restless sea,
Turning to molten silver every wave
That broke upon the reef; the warm, still nights
When all the stars seemed intimately near,
And Mystery and Beauty, hand in hand,
Passed through the perfumed darkness, unafraid.
Those times are gone, and I, Beloved, from thee
Have wandered far, and still may not return;
Yet though I never see the Southern Cross
Glisten again above thy sighing palms,
Still will I count it happiness enough
Once to have loved thee, Sorceress divine!