Sinks, hardly conscious of the influence, - A slender sound! yet hoary Time Doth to the Soul exalt it with the chime Of all his years; a company Of ages coming, ages gone; (Nations from before them sweeping, Regions in destruction steeping,) But every awful note in unison With that faint utterance, which tells Of treasure sucked from buds and bells, Radiant all over with unburnished gold, And armed with living spear for mortal fight; A cunning forager That spreads no waste; a social builder; one In whom all busy offices unite With all fine functions that afford delight, Safe through the winter storm in quiet dwells! 5. And is She brought within the power Hovering until the petals stay Her flight, and take its voice away!- At which the desert trembles.— Humming Bee! All creatures met in peace, from fierceness free, We were not mocked with glimpse and shadow, then And earth and stars composed a universal heaven! XXII. ODE TO LYCORIS. MAY, 1817. 1. AN age hath been when Earth was proud Of lustre too intense To be sustained; and Mortals bowed Who then, if Dian's crescent gleamed, And nurtured in a fickle clime, The flitting halcyon's vivid dyes; 2. In youth we love the darksome lawn Then, Twilight is preferred to Dawn, Sad fancies do we then affect, Thee, thee my life's celestial sign!) Pleased with the harvest hope that runs Before the path of milder suns, Pleased while the sylvan world displays Its ripeness to the feeding gaze; Pleased when the sullen winds resound the knell Of the resplendent miracle. M 5 3. But something whispers to my heart And, ere the flowing fount be dry, As soon it must, a sense to sip, Or drink, with no fastidious lip. Frank greeting, then, to that blithe Guest Whose home is in the breast! May pensive Autumn ne'er present Still, as we nearer draw to life's dark goal, Be hopeful Spring the favourite of the Soul! |