That elfin crown, so light and neat, Might well a fairy queen endow; With flower or plumage all complete -- The tiny hat upon the brow. It rides the @3chignon@1 lifted high, Like regal bonnet on the prow, Triumphantly; yet some decry, This janty @3chapeau@1 on the brow. The crusty cynic we may see, Bent fiercely on "domestic row," Who calls it, in his fiendish glee, A cabbage leaf upon the brow. Ah, what a stupid cabbage head, That to perfection will not bow! Could he admire, so vulgar bred, This true perfection on the brow! Its color -- texture -- delicate, Like bloom of summer on the bough; Behold, the prince of courtly state -- This bloom of roses on the brow! Thou snowy cap of alpine peak, That glitters in the sunlight now, To rival this no longer seek -- This beacon light upon the brow! Like crest upon the foaming tide; As evanescent all allow; Yet when it decks the lovely bride, Oh, bridal garland on the brow! The use need not our souls perplex; Its taste no one can disallow; Enough, it crowns the gentler sex -- A crown of glory on the brow. And yet that blooming cheek below, Far, far outshines it all avow; No art can rival nature's flow, Not diadem upon the brow. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AFTER A JOURNEY by THOMAS HARDY EPITAPH ON THOMAS CLERE, SURREY'S FAITHFUL FRIEND AND FOLLOWER by HENRY HOWARD O, BREATHE NOT HIS NAME! by THOMAS MOORE A WORKING PARTY by SIEGFRIED SASSOON TO - (3) by PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY VENICE by JOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS HASSAN'S MUSIC by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH SONGS OF NIGHT TO MORNING: 4 by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) SONNETS OF MANHOOD: 29. CHRIST AND ENGLAND by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) |