I LINGERED through the night to break of day, Nor once did sleep extend a wing to me, Intently busied with a vast array Of epithets that should outfigure thee. Full-featured terms - all fitless - hastened by, And this sole speech remained: 'That maiden mine!' - Debarred from due description then did I Perceive the indefinite phrase could yet define. As common chests encasing wares of price Are borne with tenderness through halls of state, For what they cover, so the poor device Of homely wording I could tolerate, Knowing its unadornment held as freight The sweetest image outside Paradise. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IN MEMORIAM A.H.H.: 106 by ALFRED TENNYSON RID OF HIS ENGINE by ALEXANDER ANDERSON ON A FOUNTAIN AND ITS ARCHITECT by PHILIP AYRES ANDRE by CHARLOTTE FISKE BATES RESURRECTION SONG by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES REBECCA; WHO SLAMMED DOORS FOR FUN AND PERISHED MISERABLY by HILAIRE BELLOC THERE IS AN OLD CITY by KARL BULCKE THE WANDERER: 2. IN FRANCE: AT HOME AFTER THE BALL by EDWARD ROBERT BULWER-LYTTON |