STAY thou thy beauty, lovely shape and shadow, Whose branches five, like fingers of a hand Spread to the sun, and the uplifted palm With all its history of line upon line Traced, and now trembling in the sparkling air. Stay thou, delay thy leaves, delay the buds, Hold yet thy fingers against the primrose light, Thin fingers where the wind halts and rainbow's colours Are the sole buds and only shaking leaves. Save in thy hand upcaught, the light would droop, The primrose light would wither, the purple deepen Too soon, and night draw down her wanstarred cloud. ... Stay thou thy beauty, Tree, delay thy leaves And hold thy hand still bare against the East. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE LAWYER'S INVOCATION TO SPRING by HENRY HOWARD BROWNELL TALES OF A WAYSIDE INN: THE THIRD DAY: AZRAEL by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW SONNET: 30 by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE ASTROPHEL AND STELLA: 49 by PHILIP SIDNEY STELLA'S BIRTHDAY, 1726-7 by JONATHAN SWIFT THE MAN WHO DREAMED OF FAERYLAND by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS A CONCLUSORIE HUMNE TO THE SAME WEEK; & FOR MY FRIEND by JOSEPH BEAUMONT |