Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895.

Eric Mackay b. 1851

Ecstasy

I CANNOT sing to thee as I would sing

If I were quickened like the holy lark,

With fire from Heaven and sunlight on his wing,

Who wakes the world with witcheries of the dark

Renewed in rapture in the reddening air.

A thing of splendor do I deem him then,

A feathered frenzy with an angel’s throat,

A something sweet that somewhere seems to float

’Twixt earth and sky, to be a sign to men.

He fills me with such wonder and despair!

I long to kiss thy locks, so golden bright,

As he doth kiss the tresses of the sun.

Oh! bid me sing to thee, my chosen one,

And do thou teach me, Love, to sing aright!