'I Burn, I Burn'

'I burn, I burn, as when thro' ripen'd corn,

By driving winds the crackling flames are borne,'

Now maddening, wild, I curse that fatal night;

Now bless the hour which charm'd my guilty sight.

In vain the laws their feeble force oppose :

Chain'd at his feet they groan, Love's vanquish'd foes;

In vain religion meets my sinking eye;

I dare not combat—but I turn and fly;

Conscience in vain upbraids th' unhallowed fire;

Love grasps his scorpions—stifled they expire!

Reason drops headlong from his sacred throne,

Your dear idea reigns and reigns alone:

Each thought intoxicated homage yields,

And riots wanton in forbidden fields!