 | The Peacock at Home; and Other Poems |  |
91
AN ORIENTAL APOLOGUE.
A sage once in his lonely pathway found
A substance which such od'rous power possess'd;
That as he breath'd the perfume spread around,
He thus his pleasure and surprize express'd:
A substance which such od'rous power possess'd;
That as he breath'd the perfume spread around,
He thus his pleasure and surprize express'd:
Whence com'st thou, soft enchanter of the sense;
What zephyr bore thee on his rosy wing;
Did chemic art thy blended sweets dispense,
Or hast thou robb'd the treasury of Spring?
What zephyr bore thee on his rosy wing;
Did chemic art thy blended sweets dispense,
Or hast thou robb'd the treasury of Spring?
Do precious gums these grateful airs diffuse,
From Musk from Amber do these scents arise?
Fell they from heav'n combin'd with purest dews?
Ah no! a soft harmonious voice replies.
From Musk from Amber do these scents arise?
92
Ah no! a soft harmonious voice replies.
Nature to me has given no inborn worth;
And if delicious odours I disclose,
I claim them not, who am but vulgar earth,
'Tis that I've liv'd the inmate of the Rose.
And if delicious odours I disclose,
I claim them not, who am but vulgar earth,
'Tis that I've liv'd the inmate of the Rose.
Where-e'er her balmy influence prevails,
Around the soul-reviving spirit spread;
And I the fragrant essence have inhal'd,
And drank the dews her crimson petals shed.
Around the soul-reviving spirit spread;
And I the fragrant essence have inhal'd,
And drank the dews her crimson petals shed.
| The Peacock at Home; and Other Poems | |