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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


EIGHT SONGS TO MY SISTER GEORGIA: 2. THE SYLPH'S SONG by EDITH SITWELL

Poet Analysis

First Line: THE CORNUCOPIA OF CERES
Last Line: "LISTEN TO MY SERENADE."

"THE cornucopia of Ceres
I seek not, fading not for these,

But fair Pomona, gardener's daughter,
Laughing like bird-feathered water.

Amid this hot green glowing gloom
A word falls with a rain-drop's boom;

And baskets of ripe fruit in air
The bird-songs seem, suspended where

Those goldfinches, the ripe warm lights,
Peck slyly at them, take quick flights.

I bring you branches green with dew
And fruits that you may crown anew

Your waspish-gilded hair until
That cornucopia doth spill

Dew, and your warm lips bear the stains,
And bird-blood leap within your veins.

Pomona, lovely gardener's daughter,
Fruits like ripples of the water

Soon will fade . . . then leave your fruits,
Smooth as your cheek or the birds' flutes,

And in this lovelier smoother shade
Listen to my serenade."



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