Poems (Scudder)/Old English
OLD ENGLISH
Talk of love to Kate and lo, How the startled blood doth glow Over brow and bosom As when frolic winds at play Shake the folded buds of May Into sudden blossom.
Soft words to Clorinda speak Lightly o'er her polished cheek Such faint colors hover As a pearly shell may wear When to it the mermaid fair Whispers of her lover.
But doth Helen blush, her face Such enchanting hues do grace He who sees supposes 'Neath her eyes two cherubs sit, Each in mad and merry fit T'other pelts with roses.