TEACH me the secret of thy loveliness, That, being made wise, I may aspire to be As beautiful in thought, and so express Immortal truths to earth's mortality; Though to my soul ability be less Than 't is to thee, O sweet anemone. Teach me the secret of thy innocence, That in simplicity I may grow wise, Asking from Art no other recompense Than the approval of her own just eyes; So may I rise to some fair eminence, Though less than thine, O cousin of the skies. Teach me these things, through whose high knowledge, I, -- When Death hath poured oblivion through my veins, And brought me home, as all are brought, to lie In that vast house, common to serfs and Thanes, -- I shall not die, I shall not utterly die, For beauty born of beauty -- that remains. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SWEET STAY-AT-HOME by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES THE SUN GOD by AUBREY THOMAS DE VERE WHEN DEY 'LISTED COLORED SOLDIERS by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR FUZZY-WUZZY' (SOUDAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE) by RUDYARD KIPLING JOHN BROWN OF OSAWATOMIE [OCTOBER 16, 1859] by EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN RONDEL by ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE SONNETS OF MANHOOD: 35. BALACLAVA by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) |