That elfin crown, so light and neat, Might well a fairy queen endow; With flower or plumage all complete -- The tiny hat upon the brow. It rides the @3chignon@1 lifted high, Like regal bonnet on the prow, Triumphantly; yet some decry, This janty @3chapeau@1 on the brow. The crusty cynic we may see, Bent fiercely on "domestic row," Who calls it, in his fiendish glee, A cabbage leaf upon the brow. Ah, what a stupid cabbage head, That to perfection will not bow! Could he admire, so vulgar bred, This true perfection on the brow! Its color -- texture -- delicate, Like bloom of summer on the bough; Behold, the prince of courtly state -- This bloom of roses on the brow! Thou snowy cap of alpine peak, That glitters in the sunlight now, To rival this no longer seek -- This beacon light upon the brow! Like crest upon the foaming tide; As evanescent all allow; Yet when it decks the lovely bride, Oh, bridal garland on the brow! The use need not our souls perplex; Its taste no one can disallow; Enough, it crowns the gentler sex -- A crown of glory on the brow. And yet that blooming cheek below, Far, far outshines it all avow; No art can rival nature's flow, Not diadem upon the brow. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IMPRESSIONS OF FRANCOIS-MARIE AROUET (DE VOLTAIRE) by EZRA POUND THE COUNTESS CATHLEEN IN PARADISE by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS THE PILLAR OF THE CLOUD by JOHN HENRY NEWMAN PROMETHEUS BOUND: PROMETHEUS IN THE EARTHQUAKE by AESCHYLUS SONNET TO BRITAIN by WILLIAM EDMONSTOUNE AYTOUN THE VIAL by CHARLES BAUDELAIRE PSALM 127 by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE EPIGRAM ON ONE BORN BLIND, AND SO DEAD by WILLIAM BROWNE (1591-1643) |