Oh, happy Eden! where I roam'd of yore
In that sweet ignorance I long for now,
Not childish innocence of fruited bough,
For I had bit my apple to the core:

But when the golden fruit seem'd doubly sweet
(Unlike the tempter of a bygone day),
A serpent came, and bade me fling away
What once he bade those first poor lovers eat.

Oh, had I never bent that magic bough
And tasted all the sweetness that it bore,
My heart had been as careless as before,
And all these bitter tears unfalling now!

Oh, curse the cruel hand that pointed where
My golden apple had its bitter flaw,
And curse the cruel eye that smiled and saw
My best illusions melting into air!

But garden—garden where I used to rove,
I bless thy orange groves and sunny sky,
I bless thy feath'ry palm-trees tow'ring high,
That overshadow'd what seem'd then my love!

Star Crossed Lovers

In fair Verona where we lay our scene,
Two households, alike in dignity,
A tale of love, forbidden and unseen,
A tragedy that ends in agony.

Oh, Romeo, oh Juliet,
Two hearts entwined by fate's cruel jest.
In love so deep, in death they met,
Their spirits soar, forever blest.

Young Juliet, a Capulet so fair,
Her beauty like the dawn's first light.
Sweet Romeo, a Montague so rare,
Both met beneath the moonlit night.

On Juliet’s balcony, their love was sworn,
With whispered vows beneath the starry skies.
Their future bright, yet filled with feuding's scorn,
A love that fate would later compromise.

Tybalt's wrath did spill dear Mercutio's blood,
Which stirred in Romeo vengeful fire.
With deadly steel he wrought his mournful flood,
And thus was banished from his heart's desire.

The Nurse, she knew of Juliet’s hidden plight,
A confidante in love’s forbidden scheme.
She helped the lovers in their secret flight,
And stood beside them in their fervent dream.

Good Friar Lawrence, wise and kindly soul,
In secret wed the star-crossed pair.
With hope to mend the feud's dark, bitter toll,
Yet fate decreed their love's despair.

Juliet took the potion, cold and deep,
From the apothecary’s secret store.
She feigned her death, in timeless, death-like sleep,
To be with Romeo evermore.

Romeo, hearing of her deathly plight,
Did buy a poison, swift and strong.
He kissed her lips beneath the pallid light,
And drank the draught that ended wrong.

Juliet woke to find her love was gone,
His lifeless form, her heart did break.
She took his dagger, with the coming dawn,
And with one thrust, her own life she did take.

Thus ends the tale of lovers' mournful plight,
A story told for ages hence.
In shadows deep or morning's golden light,
Their love remains, intense, immense.