 | Collected poems |  |
552
SNAP-SHOT
A swan and cygnets, nothing more.
Background of silver, reedy shore,
Dim shapes of rounded trees, the high
Effulgence of a summer sky.
Background of silver, reedy shore,
Dim shapes of rounded trees, the high
Effulgence of a summer sky.
Only a snap-shot. Just a flash,
And it was fixed,—the mimic wash,
The parent bird on-oaring slow,
Her fussy little fleet in tow,
The all-pervading sultry haze,
The white lights on the waterways,—
A scene that never was before,
A scene that will be—Nevermore!
And it was fixed,—the mimic wash,
The parent bird on-oaring slow,
Her fussy little fleet in tow,
The all-pervading sultry haze,
The white lights on the waterways,—
A scene that never was before,
A scene that will be—Nevermore!
Alas! for us. We look and wait,
And labour but to imitate;
Vainly for new effects we seek . . .
Earth's shortest second is unique!
And labour but to imitate;
Vainly for new effects we seek . . .
Earth's shortest second is unique!
1904.
| Collected poems | |