The Poetical Works of Laman Blanchard With a Memoir by Blanchard Jerrold |
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SONG FOR SHAKSPEARE'S BIRTHDAY.
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| II. |
 | The Poetical Works of Laman Blanchard |  |
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SONG FOR SHAKSPEARE'S BIRTHDAY.
Oh! the days are unnumbered that Fame with a hand
All dazzling and trembling hath traced upon sand;
But one must be lasting, still dear and divine—
And whose should it be, sweetest Shakspeare, but thine?
All dazzling and trembling hath traced upon sand;
But one must be lasting, still dear and divine—
And whose should it be, sweetest Shakspeare, but thine?
As youths at the tomb of the Painter are said
To touch with their pencils the life-laurelled head,
So the name of our Shakspeare a music can raise,
To sweeten the strength that would soar in his praise
To touch with their pencils the life-laurelled head,
So the name of our Shakspeare a music can raise,
To sweeten the strength that would soar in his praise
Oh, the hours and the days that have glided along,
When the tide of the blood seemed an Avon of song;
When the shapes that we saw, and the sounds that we heard,
Were the dreams and the glories, the world of his word.
When the tide of the blood seemed an Avon of song;
When the shapes that we saw, and the sounds that we heard,
Were the dreams and the glories, the world of his word.
Still, still to the fancy shall Rosalind cling,
From Ophelia's fair flesh still the violets spring:
Oh, the young heart had proved but a honeyless hive,
Had not time kept the blossoms of Shakspeare alive.
From Ophelia's fair flesh still the violets spring:
Oh, the young heart had proved but a honeyless hive,
Had not time kept the blossoms of Shakspeare alive.
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May the tears of the gentle descend upon them,
While the shores have a flower or the sea hath a gem;
For Will's wizard line is the famed purple hair,
Whose magical virtue secures us from care.
While the shores have a flower or the sea hath a gem;
For Will's wizard line is the famed purple hair,
Whose magical virtue secures us from care.
Sweet Shakspeare, we seek not to measure thy flight,
Or add to thy rainbow superfluous light;
But like silkworms we offer our wealth up to thee,
As fed from thy own hallowed mulberry-tree.
Or add to thy rainbow superfluous light;
But like silkworms we offer our wealth up to thee,
As fed from thy own hallowed mulberry-tree.
| The Poetical Works of Laman Blanchard | |