[CHARLOTTE LENNOX]
“To MONESES Singing”
Be hush’d as Death, Moneses sings,
Moneses strikes the sounding Strings;
Let sacred Silence dwell around,
And nought disturb the Magick Sound;
Let not the softly whisp’ring Breeze 5
Sob amidst the rustling Trees;
Murmur, ye plaintive Streams, no more,
But glide in Silence to the Shore:
Even Philomel thy Note suspend,
And to a sweeter Song attend; 10
Ah! soft, ah! dang’rous, pow’rful Charm,
An Angel’s Voice, an Angel’s Form;
Attentive to the heav’nly Lay,
I hear and gaze my Soul away;
Now tender Wishes, melting Fires, 15
Infant Pains, and young Desires,
Steal into my softned Soul,
And bend it to the sweet Controul;
Yet, let me fly, e’er ‘tis too late,
The sweet Disease, and shun my Fate. 20
But ah! that softly, dying Strain
Arrests my Steps, I strive in vain.
Again I to the Syren turn,
Again with gentle Fires I burn;
Cease lovely Youth th’ inchanting Sound, 25
Too deep already is the Wound;
Thro’ all my Veins the Poison steals,
My Heart the dear Infection feels:
I faint, I die, by love opprest,
The Sigh scarce heaves my panting Breast; 30
Before my View dim Shadows rise,
And hides Thee from my ravish’d Eyes:
Thy Voice, like distant Sounds, I hear,
It dies in murmurs on my Ear:
In the too pow’rful Transport tost, 35
Ev’n Thought, and ev’ry Sense is lost.
NOTES:
Title MONESES A made up pastoral name for an unidentified addressee.
7 plaintive “Mournful, sad” (OED).
9 Philomel “A poetic or literary name for the nightingale,” known for its sweet song (OED).
23 Syren “One who, or that which, sings sweetly, charms, allures, or deceives like the Sirens” (OED).
SOURCE: Poems on Several Occasions. Written by a Young Lady (London, 1747), pp. 23-25. [Google Books]
Edited by Tomas E. Raudales-Beleche
