Had I the choice to emulate the verse Of poets stately, beautiful, sublime; Could I be Homer's equal, to rehearse The wars and warriors of heroic time, Hector, Achilles, Ajax; had I art The woe-entangled Hamlet to declare, Or unfold Lear's, Othello's, inmost heart, Or sing as Tennyson of ladies fair; -- Metre and wit the best, and minstrel fingers, And choice conceit to wield in perfect rhyme, Delight of singers: -- These, these, O sea, all these I gladly gave, Would you the undulation of one wave, Its trick to me transfer, its sigh, its prayer, Or breathe one breath of yours upon my verse And leave its odor there. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ON THE PROPOSAL TO ERECT A MONUMENT IN ENGLAND TO LORD BYRON by EMMA LAZARUS HOW THE GREAT GUEST CAME by EDWIN MARKHAM DOMESDAY BOOK: DR. BURKE by EDGAR LEE MASTERS TOWARD THE GULF; DEDICATED TO THEODORE ROOSEVELT by EDGAR LEE MASTERS A POEM FOR MAX NORDAU by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON |