Sonnets, amatory, incidental, & descriptive :: :: University of Virginia Library

I sigh not for rich Peru's buried ore,
Nor any part she has abundantly
Disgorged; nor power, nor state, nor pageantry;
Nor prize the wealth that heaps up Commerce' shore,
Nor that which rides her waves; nor the large store
Which Neptune has obtained too frequently
From the sunk travellers of the perilous sea;
Nor aught of that which makes rich misers poor.
Give all these life-bought nothings unto them
Of whom they are ador'd; let them have gold
And silver in huge masses, and the gem
That would out-price the richest diadem—
So I but hear sweet Nature's voice, behold
Her face, and touch her humblest green robe's hem.