TYPE of the Cherubim above, Come, live with me, and be my love! Smile from my wall, dear roguish sprite, By sunshine and by candle-light; For both look sweetly on thy traits: Or, were the Lady-Moon to gaze, She'd welcome thee with lustre bland, Like some young fay from Fairy-Land. Cast in simplicity's own mould, How canst thou be so manifold In sportively distracting charms? Thy lips -- thine eves -- thy little arms That wrap thy shoulders and thy head In homeliest shawl of netted thread, Brown woollen net-work; yet it seeks Accordance with thy lovely cheeks, And more becomes thy beauty's bloom Than any shawl from Cashmere's loom. Thou hast not, to adorn thee, girl, Flower, link of gold, or gem, or pearl -- I would not let a ruby speck The peeping whiteness of thy neck. Thou need'st no casket, witching elf, No gawd -- thy toilet is thyself; Not ev'n a rose-bud from the bower -- Thyself a magnet -- gem, and flower. My arch and playful little creature, Thou hast a mind in every feature; Thy brow, with its disparted locks, Speaks language that translation mocks: Thy lucid eyes so beam with soul, They on the canvas seem to roll, Instructing both my head and heart To idolize the painter's art. He marshals minds to Beauty's feast, He is Humanity's high priest, Who proves, by heavenly forms on earth, How much this world of ours is worth. Inspire me, child, with visions fair! For children, in Creation, are The only things that could be given Back, -- and alive, unchanged, -- to Heaven! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE COMING OF WISDOM WITH TIME by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS TO MR. GAY, WHO WROTE HIM A CONGRATULATORY LETTER ON FINISHING HOUSE by ALEXANDER POPE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE: 3. IN PORT by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON THE LAST INVOCATION by WALT WHITMAN SPANISH WINGS: SENOR by H. BABCOCK CHARACTERS: SARAH RIGBY by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD POLYHYMNIA: THE YOUTH IN THE BOAT (FRAGMENT) by WILLIAM BASSE |