University of Virginia Library


190

SONNET V. THE BURSTAL LAKELET.

The dweller on Ullswater's grander shore,
Or Keswick's, would deny thee any claim
Even to bear a lakelet's borrowed name,
Of thy small urn so scanty seems the store!
And such would, doubtless, scout the poet's lore,
Who one poor Sonnet should presume to frame
In celebration of thy humble fame,
Although to their's he could award no more!
Yet all the pomp and plenitude of space
They boast, can but reflect the wider scene
Of beauty round: as lovely is the sheen
Of thy clear mirror, in which now I trace
The softened impress and the heightened grace
Of earth and sky, both silent and serene!