English Poetry. William Ernest Henley. Rhymes and Rhythms. 5. Why, My Heart, Do We Love Her So?. Уильям Эрнст Хенли.

William Ernest Henley (Уильям Эрнст Хенли)

Rhymes and Rhythms. 5. Why, My Heart, Do We Love Her So?

Why, my heart, do we love her so?
   (Geraldine, Geraldine!)
Why does the great sea ebb and flow?—
   Why does the round world spin?
Geraldine, Geraldine,
   Bid me my life renew:
What is it worth unless I win,
   Love—love and you?

Why, my heart, when we speak her name
   (Geraldine, Geraldine!)
Throbs the word like a flinging flame?—
   Why does the Spring begin?
Geraldine, Geraldine,
   Bid me indeed to be:
Open your heart, and take us in,
   Love—love and me.

William Ernest Henley’s other poems:

1. Rhymes and Rhythms. 23. Here They Trysted, Here They Strayed
2. Rhymes and Rhythms. Epilogue
3. Rhymes and Rhythms. 20. The Shadow of Dawn
4. Rhymes and Rhythms. 21. When the Wind Storms by with a Shout, and the Stern Sea-Caves
5. Echoes. 14. The Wan Sun Westers, Faint and Slow

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