LEAD the black bull to slaughter, with the boar And lamb, then purple with their mingled gore The ocean's curled brow, that so we may The sea-gods for their careful waftage pay: Send grateful incense up in pious smoke To those mild spirits, that cast a curbing yoke Upon the stubborn winds, that calmly blew To the wish'd shore our long'd-for Montague. Then, whilst the aromatic odours burn In honour of their darling's safe return, The Muses' choir shall thus with voice and hand Bless the fair gale that drove his ship to land: @3Sweetly breathing vernal air, That with kind warmth dost repair Winter's ruins; from whose breast All the gums and spice of th' East Borrow their perfumes; whose eye Gilds the morn and clears the sky; Whose dishevell'd tresses shed Pearls upon the violet bed; On whose brow, with calm smiles dress'd, The halcyon sits and builds her nest: Beauty, youth, and endless Spring Dwell upon thy rosy wing. Thou, if stormy Boreas throws Down whole forests when he blows, With a pregnant flowery birth Canst refresh the teeming earth; If he nip the early bud, If he blast what's fair or good, If he scatter our choice flowers, If he shake our hills or bowers, If his rude breath threaten us--- Thou canst stroke great Æolus, And from him the grace obtain To bind him in an iron chain.@1 Thus, whilst you deal your body 'mongst your friends, And fill their circling arms, my glad soul sends This her embrace: thus we of Delphos greet; As laymen clasp their hands, we join our feet. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BY THE PACIFIC by HERBERT BASHFORD SONNETS ON PICTURES: MARY MAGDALEN AT THE DOOR OF SIMON THE PHARISEE by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI THE DARK FOREST by PHILIP EDWARD THOMAS VERS LIBRE by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS THE GUERDON by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH EMBLEMS OF LOVE: 17. THE DIFFICULT ADVENTURE by PHILIP AYRES |