Helen of Troy by Andrew Lang
page 28 of 130 (21%)
page 28 of 130 (21%)
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IX.
"What wilt thou with me, mistress of all woe? Say, wilt thou bear me to another land Where thou hast other lovers? Rise and go Where dark the pine trees upon Ida stand, For there did one unloose thy girdle band; Or seek the forest where Adonis bled, Or wander, wander on the yellow sand, Where thy first lover strew'd thy bridal bed. X. "Ah, thy first lover! who is first or last Of men and gods, unnumber'd and unnamed? Lover by lover in the race is pass'd, Lover by lover, outcast and ashamed. Oh, thou of many names, and evil famed! What wilt thou with me? What must I endure Whose soul, for all thy craft, is never tamed? Whose heart, for all thy wiles, is ever pure? XI. "Behold, my heart is purer than the plume Upon the stainless pinions of the swan, And thou wilt smirch and stain it with the fume Of all thy hateful lusts Idalian. My name shall be a hissing that a man Shall smile to speak, and women curse and hate, |
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