Alfred Edward Housman

More Poems. 15. Tarry, Delight; so Seldom Met

Tarry, delight; so seldom met,
        So sure to perish, tarry still;
Forbear to cease or languish yet,
        Though soon you must and will.

By Sestos town, in Hero’s tower,
        On Hero’s heart Leander lies;
The signal torch has burned its hour
        And sputters as it dies.

Beneath him, in the nighted firth,
        Between two continents complain
The seas he swam from earth to earth
        And he must swim again.