RED in the east the morning broke, And in three chambers three men woke; One through curtains wove that night In the loom of the spider, saw the light Lighting the rafters black and old, And sighed for the genii to make them gold. One in a chamber, high and fair, With paneled ceilings, enameled rare, On the purple canopy of his bed Saw the light with a sluggard's dread, And buried his sullen and sickly face Deep in his pillow fringed with lace. One, from a low and grassy bed, With the golden air for a coverlet; No ornaments had he to wear But his curling beard and his coal-black hair; His wealth was his acres, and oxen twain, And health was his cheerful chamberlain. Night fell stormy -- "Woe is me!" Sighed so wearily two of the three; "The corn I planted to-day will sprout," Said one, "and the roses be blushing out;" And his heart with its joyful hope o'erran: Think you he was the poorest man? | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONNET: 30 by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE STANZAS TO A LADY by JOHN CODRINGTON BAMPFYLDE THE GATES OF PARADISE; FOR CHILDREN by WILLIAM BLAKE A NEW PILGRIMAGE: 25 by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT MELANCHOLIA by ROBERT SEYMOUR BRIDGES THE MOTHER'S PRAYER by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING THE DREAM CALLED LIFE by PEDRO CALDERON DE LA BARCA MASQUE AT THE MARRIAGE OF THE EARL OF SOMERSET: CHORUS (3) by THOMAS CAMPION |