Page:The Pleasures of Imagination - Akenside (1744).djvu/16

2 Indulgent ! from the fruitful Banks Of Avon, whence thy rosy fingers cull Fresh flow'rs and dews to sprinkle on the turf Where Shakespeare lies, be present: and with thee Let come, upon her vagrant wings Wafting ten thousand colours thro' the air, And, by the glances of her magic eye, Combining each in endless, fairy forms, Her wild creation. Goddess of the lyre Which rules the Accents of the moving sphere, Wilt thou, eternal ! descend, And join this festive train? for with thee comes The guide, the guardian of their lovely sports, Majestic ; and where TRUTH deigns to come, Her sister will not be far. Be present all ye who conduct The wand'ring footsteps of the youthful bard, New to your springs and shades: who touch his ear With finer sounds: who heighten to his eye The bloom of nature, and before him turn The gayest, happiest attitude of things.


 * Oft have the laws of each poetic strain

The critic-verse imploy'd; yet still unsung Lay this prime subject, tho' importing most A poet's name: for fruitless is th' attempt, By dull obedience and the curb of rules, For