THE wanton boy that sports in May, Among the wild flowers, blooming, gay, With laughing eyes and glowing cheeks, The brightest, freshest, fairest seeks, And there, delightedly, he lingers, To pluck them with his rosy fingers, While, like the bee, he roves among Their sweets, and hums his little song. He weaves a garland rich and rare, And decorates his yellow hair: The rose, and pink, and violet, And honeysuckle, there are set; The darkest cypress in the glade Lends to the wreath its solemn shade, And sadly smiles, when lighted up With daisy, and with butter-cup. Thus fair and bright each flower should be, Culled from the field of Poesy; But with the lightsome and the gay, Be mixed the moralizing lay Of those, who, like the cypress bough, A thoughtful shade of sorrow throw On transient buds, or flowers light, That smile at morn, and fade at night. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...FRANCIS II, KING OF NAPLES; SONNET by AMY LOWELL THE GAMBOLS OF CHILDREN by GEORGE DARLEY A BIRTHDAY by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI FALLING ASLEEP by SIEGFRIED SASSOON ANTIMENIDAS by ALCAEUS OF MYTILENE |