MESSALINA

I am the queen of Italy.

These were the signs God set on me;

A barren beauty subtle and sleek,

Curled carven hair, and cheeks worn wan

With fierce false lips of many a man,

Large temples where the blood ran weak,

A mouth athirst and amorous

And hungering as the grave's mouth does

That, being an-hungred, cannot speak.

Poems & Ballads (First Series) · 第 139 / 158 题