Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

L'INDIFFERENT; WATTEAU; THE LOUVRE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: He dances on a toe
Last Line: Who dances and must die.
Alternate Author Name(s): Field, Michael (with Edith Emma Cooper)
Subject(s): Dancing & Dancers; Watteau, Antoine (1684-1721)


He dances on a toe
As light as Mercury's:
Sweet herald, give thy message! No,
He dances on; the world is his,
The sunshine and his wingy hat;
His eyes are round
Beneath the brim:
To merely dance where he is found
Is fate to him
And he was born for that.

He dances in a cloak
Of vermeil and of blue:
Gay youngster, underneath the oak,
Come, laugh and love! In vain we woo;
He is a human butterfly; --
No soul, no kiss,
No glance nor joy!
Though old enough for manhood's bliss,
He is a boy,
Who dances and must die.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net