 | Poems on Various Subjects |  |
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ODE TO FANCY.
Formerly intended as an Introduction to a Poem on the Pleasures of a warm Imagination.
STROPHE I.
Oh Nymph divine, of heav'nly race,Who erst by Avon's favour'd side,
Array'd in all thy splendid pride,
Adorn'd with every varying grace,
Came lightly tripping in the vernal wind,
While Shakespeare on the flow'ry bank reclin'd,
And call'd the destin'd bard from slumber's soft embrace!
ANTISTROPHE I.
Oh veil thee in thy splendid vest,Ting'd by the sun's immortal rays,
Where every hue alternate plays,
Where every image is imprest—
I see thee now; thy orient zone unbound,
Thy dazzling robe flits in light's folds around,
Now hides now shews the graces of thy heaving breast.
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EPODE I.
And as the vernal am'rous galeLightly 'mong the foldings plays,
In antic postures curves the veil,
And o'er its dancing surface strays,
See how many various dyes
O'er the splendid habit rise:
Here the rose's blush is spread,
Here the violet seems to blow,
Yonder glares the rubies red,
Here the gold appears to glow;
Here the silver's glossy white,
And em'ralds there, and sapphires bright.
But ah what boots the quickest numbers pride?
For all so swift the fleeting shadows glide,
That ere the lute's mellifluous note
Can in the yielding æther float,
Or ere the panther's rapid pace
Can o'er the sands a cubit trace,
Each various hue forsakes its transient place,
And other dyes the varying vestment grace:
Now gay, now sad, now simple, now sublime,
The glow-worm tints in swift succession shine.
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STROPHE II.
Here, Goddess! bend thy antic step;Now dancing to the cymbal's noise,
Now to the flute's complaining voice,
In solemn sadness slowly sweep:
Be all thy pow'rs vicissitudes imprest
Deep on the tablet of thy suppliant's breast:
With fictions make me smile, at fictions make me weep.
ANTISTROPHE II.
What dazzling glories dart around,Where waving o'er thy sprightly head
The rainbow's various beams are spread,
And by a zone thy temple's crown'd:—
An azure zone with chrystal stars inlaid,
Whose beaming radiance is afar display'd;
Thy splendent tresses waving by no fillets bound.
EPODE II.
Thus nimbly while you pace along,Nature's freshest verdure wakes;
The thrush and linnet's gayest song
From groves and smiling hedge-briars breaks;
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And the Naiad clearer flows.
Touch'd by thee the violet shines
With a deeper, clearer blue;
'Neath thy hand, the purple vines
Seem to blush a brighter hue.
Thou canst gild the darkling cloud,
Or Phœbus' brightest glories shroud.
And ah, how swift thy gaudy vestments fade!
That robe erewhile which ev'ry hue display'd,
The zone and looks which transport warm'd,
Are now to sable weeds transform'd,
While all surrounding objects show
Sad symptoms of responsive woe.
Come then, bright nymph, with all thy various pow'r,
Into my breast thy strongest influence show'r,
While I the pleasures of thy reign rehearse,
And sing thy praises in immortal verse.
| Poems on Various Subjects | |