In these four lines, the speaker pictures a person chasing a mirage across a blazing desert. The promised oasis—“green and watered”—looks close and refreshing, but it keeps receding, never quite reachable. The chaser doesn’t simply collapse from exhaustion; he dies while still staring at that beautiful, impossible place. It’s a quietly brutal image of desire and illusion. The speaker seems to be warning that some things we desperately want are not real or attainable, and pursuing them can consume or destroy us. Because the title “Voluptas” suggests pleasure or sensual delight, the mirage likely stands for tempting pleasures that look satisfying but leave a person empty or ruined. There’s a painful irony in dying while gazing at relief that was never there. The mood is hot, tense, and tragic—full of longing undercut by futility.
Voluptas — Summary
To chase a never-reached mirage Across the hot, white sand, And choke and die, while gazing on Its green and watered strand.