Page:The West Indies, and Other Poems.djvu/147
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The youth who lifts his graceful hand,
Struck the unshapen block,
And Beauty leap'd, at his command,
A Venus from the rock.
Struck the unshapen block,
And Beauty leap'd, at his command,
A Venus from the rock.
Trembling with ecstasy of thought,
Behold the Grecian maid,
Whom love's enchanting impulse taught
To trace a slumberer's shade.
Behold the Grecian maid,
Whom love's enchanting impulse taught
To trace a slumberer's shade.
Sweet are the thefts of love;—she stole
His image while he lay,
Kindled the shadow to a soul,
And breathed that soul through clay.
His image while he lay,
Kindled the shadow to a soul,
And breathed that soul through clay.
Yon listening nymph, who looks behind,
With countenance of fire,
Heard midnight music in the wind,
—And framed the Æolian lyre.
With countenance of fire,
Heard midnight music in the wind,
—And framed the Æolian lyre.