Last night, ah, yesternight, betwixt her lips and mine
There fell thy shadow, Cynara! thy breath was shed
Upon my soul between the kisses and the wine;
And I was desolate and sick of an old passion,
Yea, I was desolate and bowed my head:
I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
All night upon mine heart I felt her warm heart beat,
Night-long within mine arms in love and sleep she lay;
The archaic ‘yea’ sounds biblical, and the image of the poet bowing his head has religious connotations. This is ironic, as it is followed in the next stanza by the description of the poet in bed with a prostitute.
Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynarae