"Alas, and well-a-day! they are talking of me still:
By the tingling of my nostril, I fear they are talking ill;
Poor hapless I - poor little I - so many mouths to fill -
And all for this strange feeling - O, this sad, sweet pain!
"O! senseless heart - O simple! to yearn so, and to pine
For one so far above me, confest o'er all to shine,
For one a hundred dote upon, who never can be mine!
O, 'tis a foolish feeling - all this fond, sweet pain!
"When I was quite a child - not so many moons ago -
A happy little maiden - O, then it was not so;
Like a sunny-dancing wavelet then I sparkled to and fro;
And I never had this feeling - O, this sad, sweet pain!
"I think it must be owing to the idle life I lead
In the dreamy house for ever that this new bosom-weed
Has sprouted up and spread its shoots till it troubles me indeed
With a restless, weary feeling - such a sad, sweet pain!
"So in this pleasant islet, O, no longer will I stay -
And the shadowy summer dwelling I will leave this very day;
On Arapa I'll launch my skiff, and soon be borne away
From all that feeds this feeling - O, this fond, sweet pain!
"I'll go and see dear Rima - she'll welcome me, I know,
And a flaxen cloak - her gayest - o'er my weary shoulders throw,
With purfle red and points so free - O, quite a lovely show -
To charm away this feeling - O, this sad, sweet pain!
"Two feathers I will borrow, and so gracefully I'll wear
Two feathers soft and snowy, for my long, black, lustrous hair.
Of the albatross's down they'll be - O, how charming they'll look there -
All to chase away this feeling - O, this fond, sweet pain!
"Then the lads will flock around me with flattering talk all day -
And, with anxious little pinches, sly hints of love convey;
And I shall blush with happy pride to hear them, I daresay,
And quite forget this feeling - O, this sad, sweet pain!"
