The Poetry of Real Life A New Edition, Much Enlarged and Improved. By Henry Ellison |
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ON A DEWDROP IN THE SUN. |
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 | The Poetry of Real Life |  |
ON A DEWDROP IN THE SUN.
Look at that diamond in the grass, as pure
As all Golconda's mines can furnish forth,
And, in my sight, not of inferior worth!
You smile, and stare at me with face demure,
Checking a sneer—oh friend, he is not poor,
Whom these things can make rich: for whom the earth,
This common earth, yields treasures without dearth,
And oh! than gold and gems how more secure,
How much more durable! a grain of gold
No jeweller would give me for that gem,
Strewn, with its countless fellows, on the hem
Of Nature's garment, for all to behold!
Yet here I kneel, in spite of thee and them,
And kiss it, as I would not a King's diadem!
As all Golconda's mines can furnish forth,
And, in my sight, not of inferior worth!
You smile, and stare at me with face demure,
Checking a sneer—oh friend, he is not poor,
Whom these things can make rich: for whom the earth,
This common earth, yields treasures without dearth,
And oh! than gold and gems how more secure,
How much more durable! a grain of gold
No jeweller would give me for that gem,
Strewn, with its countless fellows, on the hem
Of Nature's garment, for all to behold!
Yet here I kneel, in spite of thee and them,
And kiss it, as I would not a King's diadem!
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For she has ruled me with a gentle hand,
A hand of love: and, for the love I gave
Her back, she bade me take what I would have,
And placed the earth and air at my command!
And, on her endless stores so lovely, grand,
And varied, gazing long, I did but crave,
While others, with the heart's affections, pave
The way to wealth and greatness in the land,
That she would make me love a flower more
Than gold, and pomp, and all earth's fleeting store;
And, smiling, she assented, and thus spake:
Be henceforth mine, and, while the rest adore
And sweat for gold, a flower, for my sake,
Shall be to thee the wealth which they mistake!
A hand of love: and, for the love I gave
Her back, she bade me take what I would have,
And placed the earth and air at my command!
And, on her endless stores so lovely, grand,
And varied, gazing long, I did but crave,
While others, with the heart's affections, pave
The way to wealth and greatness in the land,
That she would make me love a flower more
Than gold, and pomp, and all earth's fleeting store;
And, smiling, she assented, and thus spake:
Be henceforth mine, and, while the rest adore
And sweat for gold, a flower, for my sake,
Shall be to thee the wealth which they mistake!
| The Poetry of Real Life | |