Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, PAN, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

PAN, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: This pan is but an idle god, I guess
Last Line: Whether to fan his wings or fly without.
Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F.
Subject(s): Brooks; Fantasy; Forests; Mythology - Classical; Pan (mythology); Streams; Creeks; Woods


THIS Pan is but an idle god, I guess,
Since all the fair midsummer of my dreams
He loiters listlessly by woody streams,
Soaking the lush glooms up with laziness;
Or drowsing while the maiden-winds caress
Him prankishly, and powder him with gleams
Of sifted sunshine. And he ever seems
Drugged with a joy unutterable -- unless
His low pipes whistle hints of it far out
Across the ripples to the dragon-fly
That, like a wind-born blossom blown about,
Drops quiveringly down, as though to die --
Then lifts and wavers on, as if in doubt
Whether to fan his wings or fly without.





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