Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SONNET: 16, by GEORGE SANTAYANA



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SONNET: 16, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: A thousand beauties that have never been
Last Line: Embalm the purple stretches of the air.


A thousand beauties that have never been
Haunt me with hope and tempt me to pursue;
The gods, methinks, dwell just behind the blue;
The satyrs at my coming fled the green.
The flitting shadows of the grove between
The dryads' eyes were winking, and I knew
The wings of sacred Eros as he flew
And left me to the love of things not seen.
'T is a sad love, like an eternal prayer,
And knows no keen delight, no faint surcease.
Yet from the seasons hath the earth increase,
And heaven shines as if the gods were there.
Had Dian passed there could no deeper peace
Embalm the purple stretches of the air.





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