A peacock on a pedestal In beauty doth prevail, Yet if he had a thousand eyes He could not see his tail. Fate rules he may not turn to gaze For e'en the briefest span Whene'er he spreads in green and gold His very famous fan. The rower chained to galley bench From noontime unto noon, He never sees his own trireme From viewpoint of the moon. The bulkheads like a bandage bind, The deckbeams heed no sigh, And only when the galley rolls The oar ports show the sky. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SNOWBOUND by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER MUSIC OF HUNGARY by ANNE REEVE ALDRICH SONNET (3) by JOACHIM DU BELLAY THE BEGINNING by RUPERT BROOKE PLEA FOR TOLERANCE by MARGARET E. BRUNER ON A DAMASK ROSE STICKING UPON A LADY'S BREAST by THOMAS CAREW SONGS OF THE SEA CHILDREN: 37 by BLISS CARMAN |