(ON HIS PICTURE OF ME IN CRAYONS, DRAWN AT EARTHAM IN THE SIXTY-FIRST YEAR OF MY AGE, AND IN THE MONTHS OF AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER, 1792) ROMNEY, expert infallibly to trace On chart or canvas, not the form alone And semblance, but, however faintly shown, The mind's impression too on every face, With strokes that time ought never to erase; Thou hast so pencilled mine, that though I own The subject worthless, I have never known The artist shining with superior grace. But this I mark,--that symptoms none of woe In thy incomparable work appear. Well; I am satisfied it should be so, Since, on maturer thought, the cause is clear; For in my looks what sorrow couldst thou see When I was Hayley's guest, and sat to thee? | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE PROGRESS OF POETRY; A VARIATION by MATTHEW ARNOLD ANDREA DEL SARTO (CALLED THE FAULTLESS PAINTER) by ROBERT BROWNING THE BLUE BIRD by LAWRENCE ALMA-TADEMA THE PATH by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT AH, WOE IS ME! MY MOTHER DEAR by ROBERT BURNS |