ALAS! for any Latmian boy who durst Excite thine ardours, Fame! Thou wilt reject Him in an hour, and leave him, lone, accurst, To shiver through long winters of neglect. Capricious goddess! hugging dead men's bones, Embracing scanty hair'd senility, Or dooméd youths, whose cruel death atones The strange bright sin of being loved by thee, Thy broideries are moss, thy borders mould, And all thy raiment smells of dust and clay, Thy brow is hard, thy narrow lips are cold, Thine eyes belie what thy false mouth doth say: And yet, alluring mistress, turn awhile And snare me also with a single smile! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...GARDEN FANCIES: 1. THE FLOWER'S NAME by ROBERT BROWNING CARELESS CONTENT by JOHN BYROM DOUGLAS, DOUGLAS, TENDER AND TRUE by DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK WHEN DEY 'LISTED COLORED SOLDIERS by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR ABOU BEN ADHEM by JAMES HENRY LEIGH HUNT THE FROGS: THE FATAL OIL-FLASK by ARISTOPHANES |