Page:Poems, Volume 1, Coates, 1916.djvu/253

Rh Goddess with breath of balm,

What dear contentments nestle in thy calm!

The leveret and the fawn pursue

Thy paths through coverts dim, the halcyon blue,

By seas Ægean, grieved remembrance heals.

As she thy joyance feels,

And far below the merry-twinkling waves,

Bright Thetis breathes thy praise in orient caves.

And here, in this delightful wood,

Where saucy elves and winsome fairies bide,

We, also, would draw near thee, Solitude,

And lay our cares aside:

Draw near thee, nymph demure, and drain,

From flowery cups that know no touch profane,

The dews, delicious brimming,

Recline where poppies, purple-hued,

Droop low in lovely lassitude,

While belted bees in amorous mood

O'er thymy beds are swimming,

Or musing 'neath some drowsy hemlock, gain

The sweet Morphæan anodyne for pain.