Thou shalt, at one glance, behold Sapphire queen of the mid-May; O sweet Fancy! let her loose; While she held the goblet sweet, And Jove grew languid. · Break the mesh Of the Fancy's silken leash; HALLO, MY FANCY. [1650.] IN melancholic fancy, Out of myself, In the vulcan dancy, Just like a fairy elf; Out o'er the tops of highest mountains skipping, Out o'er the hills, the trees and valleys tripping, Out o'er the ocean seas, without an oar or shipping. Hallo, my fancy, whither wilt thou go? In conceit like Phaeton, Hurrying through the air. Fair would I hear his fiery horses neighing, O, from what ground of nature That self-devouring creature, And untoward, Her vitals for to strain? And why the subtle fox, while in death's wounds is lying, Doth not lament his pangs by howling and by crying; And why the milk-white swan doth sing when she's a-dying. Hallo, my fancy, whither wilt thou go? Fain would I conclude this, At least make essay, What similitude is; Why fowls of a feather Flock and fly together, And lambs know beasts of prey: How Nature's alchymists, these small laborious creatures, Acknowledge still a prince in ordering their matters, And suffer none to live, who slothing lose their features. Hallo, my fancy, whither wilt thou go? I'm rapt with admiration, When I do ruminate, Men of an occupation, How each one calls him brother, Yet each envieth other, And yet still intimate! Yea, I admire to see some natures farther sun d'red, Than antipodes to us. Is it not to be wond'red? In myriads ye'll find, of one mind scarce a hun dred ? Hallo, my fancy, whither wilt thou go? What multitude of notions Doth perturb my pate, Considering the motions, In moisture, light, and heat! THE CLOUD. I BRING fresh showers for the thirsting flowers, I bear light shade for the leaves when laid From my wings are shaken the dews that waken When rocked to rest on their mother's breast, I wield the flail of the lashing hail, And whiten the green plains under; I sift the snow on the mountains below, While I sleep in the arms of the blast. In a cavern under is fettered the thunder; Over earth and ocean, with gentle motion, Lured by the love of the genii that move Over the lakes and plains, Wherever he dream, under mountain or stream, And I all the while bask in heaven's blue smile, The sanguine sunrise, with his meteor eyes, When the morning star shines dead. As, on the jag of a mountain crag Which an earthquake rocks and swings, An eagle, alit, one moment may sit In the light of its golden wings; And I laugh to see them whirl and flee, I bind the sun's throne with a burning zone, Sunbeam-proof, I hang like a roof, The mountains its columns be. The triumphal arch through which I march When the powers of the air are chained to my Is the million-colored bow; While the moist earth was laughing below. I am the daughter of the earth and water; I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores; For after the rain, when, with never a stain, The pavilion of heaven is bare, And the winds and sunbeams, with their convex gleams, Build up the blue dome of air, I silently laugh at my own cenotaph, And out of the caverns of rain, Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb, I rise and upbuild it again. PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY. FANCY IN NUBIBUS. And when sunset may breathe, from the lit sea O, IT is pleasant, with a heart at ease, beneath, Its ardors of rest and of love, And the crimson pall of eve may fall From the depth of heaven above, With wings folded I rest on mine airy nest, That orbed maiden with white fire laden, Just after sunset, or by moonlight skies, To make the shifting clouds be what you please, Own each quaint likeness issuing from the mould Or, listening to the tide with closèd sight, May have broken the woof of my tent's thin roof, Rise to the swelling of the voiceful sea. The stars peep behind her and peer; SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE. THE SUNSET CITY. THERE's a city that lies in the Kingdom of Clouds, A city of temples and turrets of gold, Like jewels more splendid than earth may behold, And about it are highlands of amber that reach Aerial bridges of pearl there are, And belfries of marvellous shapes, And lighthouses lit by the evening star, That sparkle on violet capes; And hanging gardens that far away When the Summer sunset's crimsoning fires And gazing enrapt as the gathering shade Creeps over the twilight lea, Sees palace and pinnacle totter and fade, And sink in the sapphire sea; Till the vision loses by slow degrees The magical splendor it wore ; The silvery curtain is drawn, and he sees HENRY SYLVESTER CORNWELL. THE CASTLE IN THE AIR. ADDRESSED TO A LADY WHO DATED HER LETTERS FROM "THE LITTLE CORNER OF THE WORLD." IN the region of clouds, where the whirlwinds arise, My castle of fancy was built. The turrets reflected the blue of the skies, The rainbow sometimes in its beautiful state Enamelled the mansion around; And the figures that fancy in clouds can create Supplied me with gardens and ground. I had grottos and fountains and orange-tree groves; I had all that enchantment has told; I had sweet shady walks for the gods and their loves; I had mountains of coral and gold. But a storm that I felt not had risen and rolled, It passed over rivers and valleys and groves; I thought of my friends, of their fates, of their loves, And often, full often, of you. |