The First and Last + 

O kiss me now; the end is near + 

The bright beginning; kiss me, dear. + 

I would not that thou shouldst one day + 

In bitter thought remembering say: + 

“When in the high tide of our bliss + 

Upon these lips I slew the kiss + 

That should have lived.” + 

The kiss I fear⁠— + 

The poison, ah, the lie, my dear. + 

Fear not; O kiss me whilst I can’t + 

Refuse; am I to-morrow thine? + 

Wilt thou be near me when I pant? + 

I shall not go; thou wilt not pine. + 

Sweet thoughts!⁠—Alas, the first, the last! + 

Nay, nay! I cling to thee: the past + 

Is dying in the lap of night + 

In which our star is shining bright. + 

The fingers in the shadow, there! + 

What are they weaving? Look, a shroud! + 

Come, purse thy lips; do not despair; + 

Take hold my hand and speak aloud. + 

No, no! For whom that shroud, for whom? + 

Not for our love⁠—not for our joy? + 

Then seal thou with thy lips my doom, + 

Ay, with a kiss this life destroy! + 