TO THE NEW HELEN ON HER BIRTHDAY
Reading edition
TO-DAY is the most perfect day Of all the rose-crowned year, For then the lady of my love On earth did once appear, From some hushed kingdom of Romance Which held her presence dear. Hers was the face that burned tall Troy And launched a thousand ships. Men fought and died because they craved, The draught that blest love sips, The fragrance of her perfumed hair, The sweetness of her lips. O Helen, goddess, woman, queen, Bend down, bend down to me, As once in storied Argolis You bent to Paris’ plea; Your hair shall seal the earth for me, Your lips shall snare the sea.