To A Lady Playing The Harp by Paul Laurence Dunbar

 

Thy tones are silver melted into sound,
And as I dream
I see no walls around,
But seem to hear
A gondolier
Sing sweetly down some slow Venetian stream.
Italian skies—that I have never seen—
I see above.
(Ah, play again, my queen;
Thy fingers white
Fly swift and light
And weave for me the golden mesh of  love.)

Oh, thou dusk sorceress of the dusky eyes
And soft dark hair,
‘T is thou that mak’st my skies
So swift to change
To far and strange;
But far and strange, thou still dost make them
fair.
Now thou dost sing, and I am lost in thee
As one who drowns
In floods of melody.
Still in thy art
Give me this part,
Till perfect love, the love of loving crowns.

Medieval Festival Vianden 3-Aug-2008

       The Harph Player