"Lovely courier of the sky, Whence and whither dost thou fly? Scattering, as thy pinions play, Liquid fragrance all the way. Is it business? Is it love? Tell me, tell me, gentle Dove." -- "Soft Anacreon's vows I bear, Vows to Myrtale the fair; Graced with all that charms the heart, Blushing nature, smiling art, Venus, courted by an ode, On the Bard her Dove bestow'd. Vested with a master's right, Now Anacreon rules my flight: As the letters that you see, Weighty charge consign'd to me: Think not yet my service hard, Joyless task without reward: Smiling at my master's gates, Freedom my return awaits: But the liberal grant in vain Tempts me to be wild again. Can a prudent Dove decline Blissful bondage such as mine? Over hills and fields to roam, Fortune's guest without a home; Under leaves to hide one's head, Slightly shelter'd, coarsely fed; Now my better lot bestows Sweet repast, and soft repose; Now the generous bowl I sip As it leaves Anacreon's lip; Void of care, and free from dread From his fingers snatch his bread, Then with luscious plenty gay Round his chambers dance and play; Or, from wine as courage springs, O'er his face expand my wings; And, when feast and frolic tire, Drop asleep upon his lyre. This is all; be quick and go, More than all thou can'st not know; Let me now my pinions ply, -- I have chatter'd like a pye." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...GLAMOUR by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON MITHRIDATES by RALPH WALDO EMERSON PALINGENESIS by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW INTROSPECTIVE by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI THRENODY by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH WAR AUTOBIOGRAPHY; WRITTEN IN ILLNESS by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN THE WANDERER: 3. IN ENGLAND: THE LAST TIME THAT I MET LADY RUTH by EDWARD ROBERT BULWER-LYTTON |