66 
RONDELS 
 
 
 
 
RONDELS 
 
I 
 
Maid of dark eyes, that glow with shy sweet fire, 
Song lingers on thy beauty till it dies 
In awe and longing on the smitten lyre : 
Maid of dark eyes. 
 
Grant me thy love, earth’s last surpassing prize, 
Me, cast upon the faggots of love’s pyre 
For love of the white bosom that underlies 
 
The subtle passion of thy snowy attire, 
The shadowy secret of thine amorous thighs, 
The inmost shrine of my supreme desire, 
Maid of dark eyes ! 
 
2 
 
Boy of red lips, pale face, and golden hair, 
Of dreamy eyes of love, and finger-tips 
Rosy with youth, too fervid and too fair, 
Boy of red lips.