O those sweet notes, so soft and faint; that seemed Locked up inside a thick walled house of stone; And then that sudden rush of sound, as though The doors and windows were wide-open thrown. Do with me, O sweet music, as thou wilt, I am thy slave to either laugh or weep; Thy power can make thy slave a lover proud, Or friendless man that has no place to sleep. I hear thy gentle whisper and again Hear ripples lap the quays of sheltered docks; I hear thy thunder and it brings to mind Dark Colorado scaling his huge rocks. I hear thy joyous cries and think of birds Delirious when the sun doth rise in May; I hear thy moans and think me of poor cows That miss at night the calves they licked by day. I hear thee wail and think of that sad queen Who saw her lover's disappearing mast; How she, who drank and wasted a rich pearl -- To prove her love -- was left to wail at last. Do with me, O sweet Music, as thou wilt; Till even thou art robbed by jealous Sleep Of those sweet senses thou hast forced from me -- And I can neither laugh with thee nor weep. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MOTHER O' MINE by RUDYARD KIPLING WORKING GIRLS by CARL SANDBURG REBECCA'S HYMN, FR. IVANHOE by WALTER SCOTT IDYLLS OF THE KING: TO THE QUEEN by ALFRED TENNYSON AN OLD BURYING GROUND by ELFRIDA DE RENNE BARROW SINCERITIES by WILLIAM ROSE BENET JERUSALEM; THE EMANATION OF THE GIANT ALBION: CHAPTER 1 by WILLIAM BLAKE |