44 . Perdita

THE SEA-COAST of Bohemia

Is pleasant to the view

When singing larks spring from the grass

To fade into the blue,

And all the hawthorn hedges break

In wreaths of purest snow,

And yellow daffodils are out,

And roses half in blow.

The sea-coast of Bohemia

Is sad as sad can be,

The prince has ta’en our flower of maids

Across the violet sea;

Our Perdita has gone with him,

No more we dance the round

Upon the green in joyous play,

Or wake the tabor’s sound.

The sea-coast of Bohemia

Has many wonders seen,

The shepherd lass wed with a king,

The shepherd with a queen;

But such a wonder as my love

Was never seen before,

It is my joy and sorrow now

To love her evermore.

The sea-coast of Bohemia

Is haunted by a light

Of memory fair of lady’s eyes,

And fame of gallant knight;

The princes seek its charmèd strand,

But ah, it was our knell

When o’er the sea our Perdita

Went with young Florizel.

The sea-coast of Bohemia

Is not my resting-place,

For with her waned from out the day

A beauty and a grace:

O had I kissed her on the lips

I would no longer weep,

But live by that until the day

I fall to shade and sleep.