Eloisa to Abelard

But o'er the twilight groves, and dusky caves,

Long founding aisles, and intermingled graves,

Black Melancholy sits, and round her throws

A death like silence, and a dread repose:

Her gloomy presence saddens all the scene.

Shades ev'ry flow'r, and darkens ev'ry green,

Deepens the murmur of the falling floods,

And breathes a browner horror on the woods,

Yet here for ever, ever must I stay;

Sad proof how well a lover can obey!

Death, only death, can break the lasting chain;

And here, ev'n then, shall my cold dust remain;

Here all its frailties, all its flames resign,

And wait, till 'tis no sin to mix with thine.