BEAUTIFUL creature, how I envy thee! Pillowed on that soft bosom, gently heaving In its transparent purity; more fair Thus exquisitely shadowed by thy wings Of crimson, purple-eyed, bedropt with gold. The morning chill nigh killed thee: -- happy creature! Thou wilt revive again, like a glad soul In paradise; and tremble in thy bliss, And wave thy wings rejoicing. Ha! even now The breath of love that ruffles o'er thy down, Like summer breezes o'er a bed of flowers, Hath stirred the life within thee, and awakened The fragile spirit of thy tender frame. But see -- she smiles, she smiles! her sunny mouth Dimples with hope and joy; her dewy eyes Are full of pity. Oh how sweet to watch The heaven-like changes of that angel face! She smiles upon thee; and, as if new life Came like an emanation from her eye, Thou leap'st to life again. -- Ah, silly one; Say, wilt thou leave that haven of delight And safety, where she cherished thee, like Love, And nourished thee with pity and warm sighs? Alas! like Love ingrateful! So, poor elf, Inebriate with joy, thy giddy wing Shall, for a time, thy form from flower to flower Waft; but autumnal dews shall soon benumb The little feeble heart within thee; soon Like the harsh season of adversity, Night winds shall find thee out, and thou shalt die -- No gentle breast to shelter thee again. Oh! what a throng of similes I wove For thee, while, cradled in that happy place, Thou slept'st supine! Methought that thou wert like A delicate flower cast on a bank of snow; -- Like Cupid nestling in his mother's arms; -- Like a fair barque from winds and waves escaped, Close harboured in a warm and sheltered creek; -- Like a star beaming from the Milky Way; -- A monarch on his throne of ivory; -- A jewelled brooch; -- a bright autumnal leaf Rocked on a limpid wave; -- a humming-bird Perched on the blossom of the orange tree: -- Or fairy sprite, ethereal Oberon, Sleeping within a lily's stainless cup; -- Or, dearer still, as famous poets feign, A Psyche, in her emblematic dress Of life, and joy, and immortality, Harmlessly dreaming near her wedded love. Nor these alone -- but thou art fled; and I, Ingrate! have chattered more than thou art worth. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SPRING ON BROADWAY by LOUIS UNTERMEYER THE MAKING OF MAN by JOHN WHITE CHADWICK SONG FOR A LITTLE HOUSE by CHRISTOPHER DARLINGTON MORLEY HALVING IT WITH WITHER by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS THE MORAL FABLES: THE WOLF AND THE WETHER by AESOP |