WHO nearer Nature's life would truly come Must nearest come to him of whom I speak; He all kinds knew,-- the vocal and the dumb; Masterful in genius was he, and unique, Patient, sagacious, tender, frolicsome. This Concord Pan would oft his whistle take, And forth from wood and fen, field, hill, and lake, Trooping around him in their several guise, The shy inhabitants their haunts forsake: Then he, like Aesop, man would satirize, Hold up the image wild to cleanest view Of undiscerning manhood's puzzled eyes, And mocking say, "Lo! mirrors here for you: Be true as these, if ye would be more wise." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THERE IS NO NATURAL RELIGION (A) by WILLIAM BLAKE SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE: 14 by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING FRIEND by MARJORIE DUGDALE ASHE OLD SARUM; LINES ON THE CONFERENCE OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH AT SALISBURY by ALICE COLBURN BEAL SS. SIMON & JUDE by JOSEPH BEAUMONT THE LAUGHING WOMAN by WILLIAM ROSE BENET THOUGHTS NEAR ASHAMPSTEAD AERODROME, HARVEST-TIME by CHARLES WILLIAM BRODRIBB |