Poems (Piatt)/Volume 2/In a Queen's Domain
IN A QUEEN'S DOMAIN.
Ah, my subject, the rose, I know, Will give me her breath and her blush;And my subject, the lily, spread snow, If I pass, for my foot to crush.
My subjects, the lamb and the fawn, They hide their heads in my breast;And my subject, the dove, coos on, Though my hand creep close to her nest.
But my subject, the bee, will sting; And my subject, the thorn, will tear;And my subject, the tiger, will spring At me, with a cry and a glare.
And my subject, the lion, will shake With his anger my loneliest lands;And my subject, the snake (ah! the snake!) Will strike me dead in the sands!