My sprightly neighbor. -- CHARLES LAMB. DIMPLED of cheek and grave of gown, A maid of whom this world has dearth, She walks the streets of that old town, And makes them mellow with her mirth. The hoary roofs grow young with cheer, The windows brighten pane by pane; And haunted by her laughter dear, To bud the shriveled boughs are fain. The painted ladies of the age, Flaunt past her over-sweet with musk; But she trips on with scent of sage Blown out some yard at fall of dusk. These painted dames of Hester's time -- When they are laid by churchyard doors, She will laugh on in English rhyme, And she be known on alien shores. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...EPISTLE TO JOHN LAPRAIK, AN OLD SCOTTISH BARD by ROBERT BURNS TO HIS MISTRESS by ROBERT HERRICK PATERNITY by WILLIAM ROSE BENET GARIBALDI by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING FATHER O'SHEA WAS HIS REGIMENT'S PRIDE by AMELIA JOSEPHINE BURR |