To Laura At The Harpsichord.

When o'er the chords thy fingers stray,      My spirit leaves its mortal clay,      A statue there I stand;      Thy spell controls e'en life and death,      As when the nerves a living breath      Receive by Love's command! [1]      More gently zephyr sighs along      To listen to thy magic song;      The systems formed by heavenly love      To sing forever as they move,      Pause in their endless-whirling round      To catch the rapture-teeming sound;      'Tis for thy strains they worship thee,      Thy look, enchantress, fetters me!      From yonder chords fast-thronging come      Soul-breathing notes with rapturous speed,      As when from out their heavenly home      The new-born seraphim proceed;      The strains pour forth their magic might,      As glittering suns burst through the night,      When, by Creation's storm awoke,      From chaos' giant-arm they broke.      Now sweet, as when the silv'ry wave      Delights the pebbly beach to lave;      And now majestic as the sound      Of rolling thunder gathering round;      Now pealing more loudly, as when from yon height      Descends the mad mountain-stream, foaming and bright;         Now in a song of love         Dying away,         As through the aspen grove         Soft zephyrs play:      Now heavier and more mournful seems the strain,      As when across the desert, death-like plain,      Whence whispers dread and yells despairing rise,      Cocytus' sluggish, wailing current sighs.      Maiden fair, oh, answer me!      Are not spirits leagued with thee?      Speak they in the realms of bliss      Other language e'er than this?