 | Fantasy and Passion |  |
36
A TOAD.
Blue dusk, that brings the dewy hours,
Brings thee, of graceless form in sooth,
Dark stumbler at the roots of flowers,
Flaccid, inert, uncouth.
Brings thee, of graceless form in sooth,
Dark stumbler at the roots of flowers,
Flaccid, inert, uncouth.
Right ill can human wonder guess
Thy meaning or thy mission here,
Gray lump of mottled clamminess,
With that preposterous leer!
Thy meaning or thy mission here,
Gray lump of mottled clamminess,
With that preposterous leer!
But when I meet thy dull bulk where
Luxurious roses bend and burn,
Or some slim lily lifts to air
Its frail and fragrant urn,
Luxurious roses bend and burn,
Or some slim lily lifts to air
Its frail and fragrant urn,
Of these, among the garden-ways,
So grim a watcher dost thou seem,
That I, with meditative gaze,
Look down on thee and dream
So grim a watcher dost thou seem,
That I, with meditative gaze,
Look down on thee and dream
Of thick-lipped slaves, with ebon skin,
That squat in hideous dumb repose,
And guard the drowsy ladies in
Their still seraglios!
That squat in hideous dumb repose,
And guard the drowsy ladies in
Their still seraglios!
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