Nora: A Serenade

Ah, Nora, my Nora, the light fades away,     While Night like a spirit steals up o'er the hills;     The thrush from his tree where he chanted all day,     No longer his music in ecstasy trills.     Then, Nora, be near me; thy presence doth cheer me,     Thine eye hath a gleam that is truer than gold.     I cannot but love thee; so do not reprove me,     If the strength of my passion should make me too bold.     Nora, pride of my heart--     Rosy cheeks, cherry lips, sparkling with glee,--     Wake from thy slumbers, wherever thou art;     Wake from thy slumbers to me.     Ah, Nora, my Nora, there 's love in the air,--     It stirs in the numbers that thrill in my brain;     Oh, sweet, sweet is love with its mingling of care,     Though joy travels only a step before pain.     Be roused from thy slumbers and list to my numbers;     My heart is poured out in this song unto thee.     Oh, be thou not cruel, thou treasure, thou jewel;     Turn thine ear to my pleading and hearken to me.