I BY ambition raised high, Oft did I Seek (though bruis'd with falls) to fly. When I saw the pomp of kings Plac'd above, I did love To draw near, and wish'd for wings. II All these joys which caught my mind Now I find To be bubbles, full of wind: Glow-worms, only shining bright When that we Blinded be By dark folly's stupid night. III Looking up then I did go To and fro, When indeed they were below: For now that mine eyes see clear, Fair no more Small and poor, Far beneath me they appear. IV But a nobler light I spy, Much more high Than that sun which shines i' th' sky: Since it's sight, all earthly things I detest; There to rest, Give, O give me the dove's wings! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SEA-BIRDS by ELIZABETH AKERS ALLEN ON THE TOMBS IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY by FRANCIS BEAUMONT ANSWER TO A CHILD'S QUESTION by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE CROTALUS by FRANCIS BRET HARTE NEW JERSEY by FRED CLARE BALDWIN WE'LL GO NO MORE THE WOODLAND WAY by THEODORE FAULLAIN DE BANVILLE WALT WHITMAN by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) |