 | Sketches of Natural History |  |
151
THE DRAGON-FLY.
With wings like crystal air,
Dyed with the rainbow's dye;
Fluttering here and there,
Pr'ythee tell me, Dragon-fly,
Whence thou comest,
Where thou roamest,
Art thou of the earth or sky?
Dyed with the rainbow's dye;
Fluttering here and there,
Pr'ythee tell me, Dragon-fly,
Whence thou comest,
Where thou roamest,
Art thou of the earth or sky?
'Mong plumes of Meadow-sweet
I see thee glance and play,
Or light with airy feet
Upon a nodding spray,
Or sailing slow,
I see thee go
I' th' sunshine far away.
I see thee glance and play,
Or light with airy feet
Upon a nodding spray,
152
I see thee go
I' th' sunshine far away.
Tell me, pr'ythee, Dragon-fly,
What and whence thou art?
Whether art of earth or sky,
Or of flowers a part?
And who, together
This fine weather
Put thee, glorious as thou art?
What and whence thou art?
Whether art of earth or sky,
Or of flowers a part?
And who, together
This fine weather
Put thee, glorious as thou art?
He maketh no reply,
But all things answer loud,
“Who formed the Dragon-fly,
Formed sun and sea and cloud;
Formed flower and tree;
Formed me and thee,
With nobler gifts endowed!”
But all things answer loud,
“Who formed the Dragon-fly,
Formed sun and sea and cloud;
Formed flower and tree;
Formed me and thee,
With nobler gifts endowed!”
153
Save for the Eternal Thought,
Bright shape thou hadst not been,
He from dull matter wrought
Thy purple and thy green;
And made thee take,
E'en for my sake,
Thy beauty and thy sheen!
Bright shape thou hadst not been,
He from dull matter wrought
Thy purple and thy green;
And made thee take,
E'en for my sake,
Thy beauty and thy sheen!
| Sketches of Natural History | |