Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE WATER-LILY by JOHN BANISTER TABB

First Line: WHENCE, O FRAGRANT FORM OF LIGHT
Last Line: LEFT HER GARMENT IN THE TIDE.
Subject(s): FLOWERS; HOLIDAYS; LILIES; PLANTS; TREES; PLANTING; PLANTERS;

WHENCE, O fragrant form of light,
Hast thou drifted through the night,
Swanlike, to a leafy nest,
On the restless waves, at rest?
Art thou from the snowy zone
Of a mountain-summit blown,
Or the blossom of a dream,
Fashioned in the foamy stream?
Nay, -- methinks the maiden moon,
When the daylight came too soon,
Fleeting from her bath to hide,
Left her garment in the tide.



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