| Arthur Quiller-Couch, comp. The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse. 1922. | | | | Bridal Song to Amala | | By Thomas Lovell Beddoes (1803–1849) |
| | By female voices WE have bathed, where none have seen us, | |
| In the lake and in the fountain, | |
| Underneath the charmèd statue | |
| Of the timid, bending Venus, | |
| When the water-nymphs were counting | 5 |
| In the waves the stars of night, | |
| And those maidens started at you, | |
| Your limbs shone through so soft and bright. | |
| But no secrets dare we tell, | |
| For thy slaves unlace thee, | 10 |
| And he, who shall embrace thee, | |
| Waits to try thy beauty’s spell. | |
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By male voices We have crown’d thee queen of women, | |
| Since love’s love, the rose, hath kept her | |
| Court within thy lips and blushes, | 15 |
| And thine eye, in beauty swimming, | |
| Kissing, we render’d up the sceptre, | |
| At whose touch the startled soul | |
| Like an ocean bounds and gushes, | |
| And spirits bend at thy control. | 20 |
| But no secrets dare we tell, | |
| For thy slaves unlace thee, | |
| And he, who shall embrace thee, | |
| Is at hand, and so farewell! | | | | |
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