Thou hast been very tender to the moon, Malvolio! and on many a daffodil And many a daisy hast thou yearn'd, until The nether jaw quiver'd with thy good heart. But tell me now, Malvolio, tell me true, Hast thou not sometimes driven from their play The village children, when they came too near Thy study, if hit ball rais'd shouts around, Or if delusive trap shook off thy muse, Pregnant with wonders for another age? Hast thou sat still and patient (tho' sore prest Hearthward to stoop and warm thy blue-nail'd hand) Lest thou shouldst frighten from a frosty fare The speckled thrush, raising his bill aloft To swallow the red berry on the ash By thy white window, three short paces off? If @3this@1 thou hast not done, and hast done @3that@1, I do exile thee from the moon twelve whole Calendar months, debarring thee from use Of rose, bud, blossom, odour, simile, And furthermore I do hereby pronounce Divorce between the nightingale and thee. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE INDIAN EMPEROR: SONG by JOHN DRYDEN FIRST OR LAST (SONG) by THOMAS HARDY RELIEVING GUARD by FRANCIS BRET HARTE THE VANITY OF HUMAN WISHES; THE 10TH SATIRE OF JUVENAL, IMITATED by SAMUEL JOHNSON (1709-1784) SONNET: TO SLEEP by JOHN KEATS |