"Se Dio ti lasci, lettor, prender frutto Di tua lezione." BEHOLD the portal: open wide it stands, And the long reaches shine and still allure To seek their nobler depths serene, secure, And watch the waters kiss the yellow sands That gentle winds stir with their sweet commands; These stately growths from age to age endure, These splendid blooms glow in the sunlight pure, These wondrous works of human hearts and hands. Over the charmed space no story may rest, The gloomy hours avoid the magic bound, Homer dwells here, Vergil, and all the blest Whose perfumed color lights Time's mighty round; Pluck the fruit freely, reader, and partake, God wills it -- for the enchanted Soul's fair sake. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...NOW PRECEDENT SONGS, FAREWELL by WALT WHITMAN THE MAIMED DEBAUCHEE by JOHN WILMOT DESERT WIFE by NELLIE COOLEY ALDER HOME'S A NEST by WILLIAM BARNES SONNET OF LIFE by ERNEST BENSHIMOL ON THE FUNERAL OF CHARLES I; AT NIGHT, IN ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL, WINDSOR by WILLIAM LISLE BOWLES A RHPASODY; WRITTEN AT THE LAKES IN WESTMORLAND by JOHN BROWN (1715-1766) |