POEMS OF JAMES RYDER RANDALL
And beyond the echo-flutter of the flute and violin.
Little fairy, little fay,
From the torrent keep away,
Or thy roses and thy ribbons will be waltzing in the spray,
Ha! Ha!
Ha! Ha!
Who is gentler, who is fairer—ha! ha! who is sweeter;
Who is brighter, ha! ha! who is wittier and neater,
Than the queen of my spirit—its glorified defeater—
Ha! Ha! Ha! Malgherita! Malgherita!
in the twinkle of a minute, she wildly pours within it
The glory of her tresses like a vivid golden veil;
In a second of derision, she forgetteth her precision,
And is captured by the current as it dashes to the vale.
I shoot beneath the flood
All the lightning of my blood—
I reach her and I save her and I bear her to the wood.
Ha! Ha!
Ha! Ha!
Who is gentler, who is fairer—ha! ha! who is sweeter;
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