Urania speaks with darken'd brow: 'Thou pratest here where thou art least; This faith has many a purer priest, And many an abler voice than thou. 'Go down beside thy native rill, On thy Parnassus set thy feet, And hear thy laurel whisper sweet About the ledges of the hill.' And my Melpomene replies, A touch of shame upon her cheek: 'I am not worthy even to speak Of thy prevailing mysteries; 'For I am but an earthly Muse, And owning but a little art To lull with song an aching heart, And render human love his dues; 'But brooding on the dear one dead, And all he said of things divine, -- And dear to me as sacred wine To dying lips is all he said, -- 'I murmur'd, as I came along, Of comfort clasp'd in truth reveal'd, And loiter'd in the master's field, And darken'd sanctities with song.' | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE GOODLY SONG by PAUL VERLAINE THE SONG OF THE INGENUES by PAUL VERLAINE ON THE ROAD TO CHORRERA by ARLO BATES MOTHER'S LOVE by THOMAS BURBIDGE THE DOG by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES COLUMBUS by EDWARD EVERETT HALE MODERN LOVE: 50 by GEORGE MEREDITH SONNETS OF MANHOOD: 15. ONE NIGHT WITH THEE by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) |