Poems (Hardy)/A Shakespeare reader
A SHAKESPEARE READER
AN island where illusive voice and scene,
To lead them to the truth, led men astray;
A leafy wood astir with pastoral play;
A castle cursed with demon king and queen;
A palace brightened by the sunny sheen
Of Portia's locks,—these fancy could portray
With pallid brush; then they would fade away
Like painted landscapes on a magic screen:
But show us, thou interpreter, the wand
That Prosper buried certain fathoms deep!
Thou hast its potent art. With voice and hand
Conjure,—we follow to that orient steep
Which overlooks the Shakespeare tableland,
And there, entranced, 'mid living landscapes stand.
To lead them to the truth, led men astray;
A leafy wood astir with pastoral play;
A castle cursed with demon king and queen;
A palace brightened by the sunny sheen
Of Portia's locks,—these fancy could portray
With pallid brush; then they would fade away
Like painted landscapes on a magic screen:
But show us, thou interpreter, the wand
That Prosper buried certain fathoms deep!
Thou hast its potent art. With voice and hand
Conjure,—we follow to that orient steep
Which overlooks the Shakespeare tableland,
And there, entranced, 'mid living landscapes stand.