How shall I paint thee? -- Be this naked stone My seat, while I give way to such intent; Pleased could my verse, a speaking monument, Make to the eyes of men thy features known. But as of all those tripping lambs not one Outruns his fellows, so hath Nature lent To thy beginning nought that doth present Peculiar ground for hope to build upon. To dignify the spot that gives thee birth, No sign of hoar Antiquity's esteem Appears, and none of modern Fortune's care; Yet thou thyself hast round thee shed a gleam Of brilliant moss, instinct with freshness rare; Prompt offering to thy Foster-mother, Earth! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE MYSTERY OF PAIN by EMILY DICKINSON PASSER MORTUUS EST by EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY FAREWELL TO CYNTHIA by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS VERSES FOR A GUEST ROOM by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS DELIVERANCE by JOHN KENDRICK BANGS |