The Silken Tassel/The Spirit of Poetry

​
The Spirit of Poetry
I gather’d my rhymes from the songs of the stars,
I gather’d my words from the whispering winds,
I gather’d my dreams from the colours of eve,
And I gather’d my thoughts from the high-streaming minds;
  I awaited the gleam of thy magical ray,
  But, Spirit of Poetry! thou wert away!

I stood once in joy ’neath a rainbow’s arch,
And I pass’d thro’ its golden drops of delight;
My heart was so full with the throbs of thy love,
And my eyes were aglow with thy ever-new light;
  I planted that rainbow here ever to be,
  When, Spirit of Poetry! thou wert with me!

Then the plumes of the morn were the dreams that I dreamt,
And the music of rain was the voice thro’ me rang;
The glow of the growing moon was my desire,
And the twinkling stars were the songs that I sang:
  The world was my wingèd steed gaily to rove,
  When, Spirit of Poetry! thou wert my love!

​
Can Joy be the shadow of Love ever here,
Can Beauty be wingless here ever to stay?
Can Hope with her laurels crown ever the good,
Or the Season of Life ever flower in May?—
  The world is a vision: and what thou too showest?—
  Stay, Spirit of Poetry! stay, where thou goest?

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.