If ancient bards had sung your praise,
Would Trojan Helen be divine?
Had Shakespeare put you in his plays,
Would his fair Juliet so shine?
If history had known your name,
What queen, what empress would not pale,
By you outshone in face and fame,
What haughty beauty would not wail?
What conqueror would hesitate
To give his empire for your heart?
What mighty eastern potentate,
Would fail to honour you in art?
I am a common man and poor;
You are the treasure I adore.
