Poems by Violet Fane [i.e. M. M. Lamb] With Portrait engraved by E. Stodart ... in two volumes |
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THE POET.
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 | Poems by Violet Fane [i.e. M. M. Lamb] |  |
157
THE POET.
The poet was not born to teach
A moral lesson to mankind;
He hath no solemn creed to preach,
But, fancy-free and unconfined,
By sunlit glade or grey sea-beach
His lyre wakes to the shifting wind.
A moral lesson to mankind;
He hath no solemn creed to preach,
But, fancy-free and unconfined,
By sunlit glade or grey sea-beach
His lyre wakes to the shifting wind.
And if he be a minstrel true,
Its ev'ry sound should charm your ears,
Of ev'ry cloud the changing hue
Should bear some fruit in smiles or tears,
And all his songs should waft to you
An echo of some voice he hears.
Its ev'ry sound should charm your ears,
Of ev'ry cloud the changing hue
Should bear some fruit in smiles or tears,
And all his songs should waft to you
An echo of some voice he hears.
Thus, true to Nature and to Art,
He flings his music on the gale;
And even should its tones impart
But gall and bitterness, and fail
To ease his own o'erburden'd heart,
And prove to yours of no avail,
He flings his music on the gale;
And even should its tones impart
But gall and bitterness, and fail
To ease his own o'erburden'd heart,
And prove to yours of no avail,
158
From love of song alone he sings,
And as his mood is foul or fair
His voice in tune or discord rings,
No matter, so the voice be there,
And should his lyre e'en snap its strings
He will not know, he will not care!
And as his mood is foul or fair
His voice in tune or discord rings,
No matter, so the voice be there,
And should his lyre e'en snap its strings
He will not know, he will not care!
| Poems by Violet Fane [i.e. M. M. Lamb] | |