 | A collection of poems on various subjects |  |
17
VARIETY.
Hail subtle genius! soul of all delight,Variety! a little fairy wight,
With eye of rainbow made, and cheek beset
With dell and dimple;—tresses, some of jet
And some of gold, with every hue between,
And lips of coral, bright as ne'er was seen
In mortal nor in elf beside; with rows
Of pearl within, as sea-nymph only shews.
Her shape to all proportion, that agree
With fancy's countless rules of symmetry,
She'll turn at will. Her air alike she'll change
To ev'ry mien in whim's unbounded range;
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'Tis sometimes bright nut-brown, and sometimes driven snow:
And if she speak, you'll hear her accents fall
In every tone that is, and each is musical!
Thus will she pass along; nor does she arm
Her hand with either potent wand or charm,
But, thro' the medium of our senses, tries
To rule our ebbing joys, that, else, no more wou'd rise.
| A collection of poems on various subjects | |