WHERE I am, the halls are gilded, Stored with pictures bright and rare; Strains of deep melodious music Float upon the perfumed air: -- Nothing stirs the dreary silence Save the melancholy sea, Near the poor and humble cottage, Where I fain would be! Where I am, the sun is shining, And the purple windows glow, Till their rich armorial shadows Stain the marble floor below: -- Faded autumn leaves are trembling On the withered jasmine-tree, Creeping round the little casement, Where I fain would be! Where I am, the days are passing O'er a pathway strewn with flowers; Song and joy and starry pleasures Crown the happy, smiling hours: -- Slowly, heavily, and sadly, Time with weary wings must flee, Marked by pain, and toil, and sorrow, Where I fain would be! Where I am, the great and noble Tell me of renown and fame, And the red wine sparkles highest To do honor to my name: -- Far away a place is vacant, By a humble hearth, for me, Dying embers dimly show it, Where I fain would be! Where I am are glorious dreamings, Science, genius, art divine; And the great minds whom all honor Interchange their thoughts with mine: -- A few simple hearts are waiting, Longing, wearying, for me, Far away, where tears are falling, Where I fain would be! Where I am, all think me happy, For so well I play my part, None can guess, who smile around me, How far distant is my heart, -- Far away, in a poor cottage, Listening to the dreary sea, Where the treasures of my life are, Where I fain would be! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE QUILTING by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR BROTHERS by GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS THE NILE by JAMES HENRY LEIGH HUNT THE ALLEY. AN IMITATION OF SPENSER by ALEXANDER POPE VALENTINES TO MY MOTHER: 1885 by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI AN ARMY CORPS ON THE MARCH by WALT WHITMAN ODES: BOOK 2: ODE 8. AMORET by MARK AKENSIDE |