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Piero di Cosimo. Venus, Mars, and Cupid, 1490.
The Dream. A Song.
The grove was gloomy all around,
Murm'ring the streams did pass,
Where fond Astrea laid her down
Upon a bed of grass.
I slept and saw a piteous sight,
Cupid aweeping lay,
Till both his little stars of light
Had wept themselves away.
Methought I asked him why he cried,
My pity led me on;
All sighing the sad boy replied,
" Alas I am undone.
" As I beneath yon myrtles lay,
Down by Diana's springs,
Amyntas stole my bow away,
And pinioned both my wings."
" Alas! cried I, 'twas then thy darts
Wherewith he wounded me :
Thou mighty Deity of Hearts,
He stole his power from thee.
" Revenge thee, if a god thou be,
Upon the amorous swain;
I'll set thy wings at liberty,
And thou shalt fly again.
" And for this service on my part,
All I implore of thee,
Is that thou'lt wound Amyntas' heart,
And make him die for me."
His silken fetters I untied,
And the gay wings displayed;
Which gently fanned, he mounts and cried,
" Farewell, fond easy maid."
At this I blushed, and angry grew
I should a god believe;
And waking found my dream too true,
Alas! I was a slave.
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Restoration Verse, 1660-1715. William Kerr, ed.
London: Macmillan, 1930. 158-159.
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Page created by Anniina Jokinen on June 23, 2006. Last updated on February 23, 2011.
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Aphra Behn
