Poem by Henry Kendall

Early Poems (1859-70). Astarte

Across the dripping ridges,
 O, look, luxurious night!
She comes, the bright-haired beauty,
 My luminous delight!
 My luminous delight!
So hush, ye shores, your roar,
   That my soul may sleep, forgetting
Dead Love's wild Nevermore!

Astarte, Syrian sister,
 Your face is wet with tears;
I think you know the secret
 One heart hath held for years!
 One heart hath held for years!
But hide your hapless love,
   And my sweet—my Syrian sister,
Dead Love's wild Nevermore!

Ah, Helen Hope in heaven,
 My queen of long ago,
I've swooned with adoration,
 But could not tell you so,
 Or dared not tell you so,
My radiant queen of yore!
   And you've passed away and left me
Dead Love's wild Nevermore!

Astarte knoweth, darling,
 Of eyes that once did weep,
What time entranced Passion
 Hath kissed your lips in sleep;
 Hath kissed your lips in sleep;
But now those tears are o'er,
   Gone, my saint, with many a moan to
Dead Love's wild Nevermore!

If I am past all crying,
 What thoughts are maddening me,
Of you, my darling, dying
 Upon the lone, wide sea,
 Upon the lone, wide sea,
Ah! hush, ye shores, your roar,
   That my soul may sleep, forgetting
Dead Love's wild Nevermore!

1. Early Poems (1859-70). In Memoriam—Nicol Drysdale Stenhouse
2. Other Poems (1871-82). How the Melbourne Cup was Won
3. Early Poems (1859-70). Cui Bono?
4. Other Poems (1871-82). Aboriginal Death-Song
5. Other Poems (1871-82). Sydney Exhibition Cantata

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