Poem by Mary Robinson

Sonnet 19. Farewell, Ye Coral Caves

Farewell, ye coral caves, ye pearly sands,
Ye waving woods that crown yon lofty steep;
Farewell, ye Nereides of the glitt’ring deep,
Ye mountain tribes, ye fawns, ye sylvan bands:
On the bleak rock your frantic minstrel stands,
Each task forgot, save that, to sigh and weep;
In vain the strings her burning fingers sweep,
No more her touch, the Grecian Lyre commands!
In Circe’s cave my faithless Phaon’s laid,
Her daemons dress his brow with opiate flow’rs;
Or, loit’ring in the brown pomgranate shade,
Beguile with am’rous strains the fateful hours;
While Sappho’s lips, to paly ashes fade,
And sorrow’s cank’ring worm her heart devours!

1. Male Fashions for 1799
2. Sonnet 41. Yes, I Will Go
3. Ode to Envy
4. Sonnet 40. On the Low Margin
5. Sonnet 28. Weak Is the Sophistry

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