William Wordsworth
Strange Fits of Passion
from Lyrical Ballads (Volume II, 1800)
Strange fits of passion I have known, | ||
And I will dare to tell, | ||
But in the lover's ear alone, | ||
What once to me befel. | ||
5 | When she I lov'd, was strong and gay | |
And like a rose in June, | ||
I to her cottage bent my way, | ||
Beneath the evening moon. | ||
Upon the moon I fix'd my eye, | ||
10 | All over the wide lea; | |
My horse trudg'd on, and we drew nigh | ||
Those paths so dear to me. | ||
And now we reach'd the orchard plot, | ||
And, as we climb'd the hill, | ||
15 | Towards the roof of Lucy's cot | |
The moon descended still. | ||
In one of those sweet dreams I slept, | ||
Kind Nature's gentlest boon! | ||
And, all the while, my eyes I kept | ||
20 | On the descending moon. | |
My horse mov'd on; hoof after hoof | ||
He rais'd and never stopp'd: | ||
When down behind the cottage roof | ||
At once the planet dropp'd. | ||
25 | What fond and wayward thoughts will slide | |
Into a Lover's head- | ||
O mercy! to myself I cried, | ||
If Lucy should be dead! | ||
First published 1800
Robert Clark