Had I the power To Midas given of old To touch a flower And leave the petals gold I then might touch thy face, Delightful boy, And leave a metal grace, A graven joy. Thus would I slay, -- Ah, desperate device! The vital day That trembles in thine eyes, And let the red lips close Which sang so well, And drive away the rose To leave a shell. Then I myself, Rising austere and dumb On the high shelf Of my half-lighted room, Would place the shining bust And wait alone, Until I was but dust, Buried unknown. Thus in my love For nations yet unborn, I would remove From our two lives the morn, And muse on loveliness In mine arm-chair, Content should Time confess How sweet you were. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CALLING DREAMS by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON MEMORIAL VERSES by MATTHEW ARNOLD IN DISPRAISE OF THE MOON by MARY ELIZABETH COLERIDGE THE FARM CHILD'S LULLABY by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR ON THE DEATH OF SIR THOMAS WYATT by HENRY HOWARD THE MAN IN THE MOON by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY SING-SONG; A NURSERY RHYME BOOK: 105 by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI |