Page:Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1900.djvu/684

 555. Glycine's Song

A sunny shaft did I behold, From sky to earth it slanted: And poised therein a bird so bold— Sweet bird, thou wert enchanted!

He sank, he rose, he twinkled, he troll'd Within that shaft of sunny mist; His eyes of fire, his beak of gold, All else of amethyst!

And thus he sang: 'Adieu! adieu! Love's dreams prove seldom true. The blossoms, they make no delay: The sparking dew-drops will not stay. Sweet month of May, We must away; Far, far away! To-day! to-day!'

ROBERT SOUTHEY

1774-1843

556. His Books

My days among the Dead are past; Around me I behold, Where'er these casual eyes are cast, The mighty minds of old: My never-failing friends are they, With whom I converse day by day.