O fate!
Thou unkind and most cruel tormentor;

To put before me;
Here within a whisper’s breath,
Just beyond my grasp --

That which thee hath made for me...
The one whose eyes
Now haunt me so,
Whose fervent heart
Beats rapt in measured time
with mine

Such unrequited bliss I’ve never known!

No!

None so strong as this…
To taunt me to and fro;

A kingdom for a kiss…
I’d gladly give!
The world as ransom
Only for a moment
In which to live…

This providence
Whose only sin

Is that I

should die…

If I should somehow fail...
and miss...

This priceless gift
that might not ever come again.