Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, FAIRIES ON THE SEA-SHORE, BY HOWARD, by LETITIA ELIZABETH LANDON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

FAIRIES ON THE SEA-SHORE, BY HOWARD, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: My home and haunt are in every leaf
Last Line: Will put us and our glow-worm lamps to flight!
Alternate Author Name(s): L. E. L.; Maclean, Letitia
Subject(s): Fairies; Paintings & Painters; Elves


1st Fairy. My home and haunt are in every leaf,
Whose life is a summer day, bright and brief, --
I live in the depths of the tulip's bower,
I wear a wreath of the cistus flower,
I drink the dew of the blue harebell,
I know the breath of the violet well, --
The white and the azure violet;
But I know not which is the sweetest yet, --
I have kiss'd the cheek of the rose,
I have watch'd the lily unclose,
My silver mine is the almond tree, --
Who will come dwell with flower and me?
Chorus of Fairies. Dance we our round, 'tis a summer night,
And our steps are led by the glow-worms' light.
2nd Fairy. My dwelling is in the serpentine
Of the rainbow's coloured line, --
See how its rose and amber clings
To the many hues of my radiant wings;
Mine is the step that bids the earth
Give to the iris flower its birth,
And mine the golden cup to hide,
Where the last faint hue of the rainbow died.
Search the depths of an Indian mine, --
Where are the colours to match with mine?
Chorus. Dance we round, for the gale is bringing
Songs the summer rose is singing.
3rd Fairy. I float on the breath of a minstrel's lute,
Or the wandering sounds of a distant flute,
Linger I over the tones that swell
From the pink-vein'd chords of an ocean-shell;
I love the skylark's morning hymn,
Or the nightingale heard at the twilight dim,
The echo, the fountain's melody, --
These, oh! these are the spells for me!
Chorus. Hail to the summer night of June;
See! yonder has risen our ladye moon.
4th Fairy. My palace is in the coral cave
Set with spars by the ocean wave;
Would ye have gems, then seek them there, --
There found I the pearls that bind my hair.
I and the wind together can roam
Over the green waves and their white foam, --
See, I have got this silver shell,
Mark how my breath will its smallness swell,
For the Nautilus is my boat
In which I over the waters float:
The moon is shining over the sea, --
Who is there will come sail with me!
Chorus of Fairies. Our noontide sleep is on leaf and flower,
Our revels are held in a moonlit hour, --
What is there sweet, what is there fair,
And we are not the dwellers there?
Dance we round, for the morning light
Will put us and our glow-worm lamps to flight!





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