 | Poetical Trifles |  |
38
FROM THE ITALIAN.
“Questa Fenice dell' aurata piuma.”
Petrarch.
Petrarch.
This Phœnix, with the splendid golden plume
That heaves around its graceful breast;
A necklace forms, of artless, costly bloom,
Which will not leave my heart at rest.
That heaves around its graceful breast;
A necklace forms, of artless, costly bloom,
Which will not leave my heart at rest.
39
A diadem is made of beaming hue,
That glistens in the air around:
From it Love a subtle spark of fire drew
To melt the heart by ice drops bound.
That glistens in the air around:
From it Love a subtle spark of fire drew
To melt the heart by ice drops bound.
A purple vest, edg'd with cerulean die,
Fill'd with the breath of roses sweet,
Is seen o'er its beauteous shoulders lie,
And forms a plumage rich and neat.
Fill'd with the breath of roses sweet,
Is seen o'er its beauteous shoulders lie,
And forms a plumage rich and neat.
'Tis said, that in Arabia's fertile bed,
Where spicy sweetness scents the air;
Amid lone high retreats it lays its head,
Until an offspring rises there.
Where spicy sweetness scents the air;
Amid lone high retreats it lays its head,
Until an offspring rises there.
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