TO THE UNATTAINABLE

translated into English by: Laurence Hope (1865-1904)

H, that my blood were water, thou athirst,

And thou and I in some far Desert land,

How would I shed it gladly, if but first

It touched thy lips, before it reached the sand.




Once, -- Ah, the Gods were good to me, -- I threw

Myself upon a poison snake, that crept

Where my Beloved -- a lesser love we knew

Than this which now consumes me wholly -- slept.




But thou; Alas, what can I do for thee?

By Fate, and thine own beauty, set above

The need of all or any aid from me,

Too high for service, as too far for love.

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