I kiss your lips, and feel the poison steal
Through every vein, and wither up my soul;
My heart grows faint, my brain begins to reel,
And all the world seems fading into coal.
I kiss your eyes, and see the darkness creep
Across their stars, and all their light is gone;
My soul grows cold, my senses reel and sleep,
And I am lost in night, and all is done.
I kiss your brow, and feel the chill of death
Creep o'er my limbs, and all my strength is gone;
My heart grows faint, my brain begins to wreathe
In mists of horror, and I sink and moan.
I kiss your hand, and feel the icy chill
That freezes up my blood, and all is o'er;
My soul grows cold, my senses reel and spill,
And I am lost in death, and all is o'er.
Oh, kiss me not, beloved, lest I die!
Your love is poison, and it kills me so;
Your lips are like the lips of one who lies
Dead in his shroud, and your eyes are like the snow.
Your brow is like the brow of one who sleeps
The sleep of death, and your hand is like the clay;
Your touch is like the touch of one who creeps
Upon the grave, and your kiss is like the day
That wakes the dead, and bids them rise and go
Forth to their doom; your love is like the grave,
And I am lost in night, and all is o'er.
