Here quietly the lazy ripples run, Where willows find a mirror at their feet, The little pool is dappled with the sun, And every breath is faint with meadowsweet. Then suddenly, across the drowsy air He darts, a streak of gay exotic light, The spectrum of the rainbow gathered there, A stabbing sword of colour, slim and bright. And alien to this dreaming muted hour One instant on the gentle stream he glints, Then, glowing brilliant as a tropic flower Is gone, a flash of iridescent light. Now quietly the whispering grasses sigh For grief that beauty passed so swiftly by. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HONEY DRIPPING FROM THE COMB by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY NIGHTFALL (1) by WYSTAN HUGH AUDEN ON BEING ASKED IF ONE WAS A NUMBER, REPLY TO MR. HOUGHTON by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD SOLUTION OF THE CHARADE IN THE MUSEUM FOR OCTOBER by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD THE CHANCE by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN |