Household Verses By Bernard Barton |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. | SONNET IV.
IN THE SHRUBBERY, NEAR THE COTTAGE. |
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 | Household Verses |  |
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SONNET IV. IN THE SHRUBBERY, NEAR THE COTTAGE.
Fair Earth! thou surely wert not meant to beTime's show-room! but the glorious vestibule
Of scenes that stretch beyond his sway and rule,
Or that of aught we now can hear or see!
For he who most intently looks on thee,
Must be a novice e'en in Nature's school,
In one far higher a more hopeless fool,
To go no further with her master-key!
Beautiful as thou art, thou art no more
Than a faint shadow, or a glimmering ray,
Of beauty, glory, ne'er to pass away;
Nor thankless is thy minstrel, at threescore,
While he can revel in thy bounteous store,
To look beyond thy transitory day.
| Household Verses | |