Poems (Toke)/The skylark
EE! starting from her grassy lairThe Skylark springs aloft in air,And wings on high her rapid flightTowards yon blue realms of cloudless light,Till, mounting still, she seems at lastA speck in ether's boundless waste!Say,—borne upon her rapid wing,Shouldst thou not love on high to spring,And far above this world of careRoam free through crystal fields of air?But ah! her upward flight is past;From those bright realms descending fastShe quickly falls;—her flight is o'er,—She plants her foot on earth once more.And thus, on Fancy's pinions borne,Bright scenes of bliss the mind can form:And, raised above this world of woe,Can dream of bliss unknown below;Till—short that slumber's peaceful reign—The spirit wakes to earth again.
THE SKYLARK.
EE! starting from her grassy lairThe Skylark springs aloft in air,And wings on high her rapid flightTowards yon blue realms of cloudless light,Till, mounting still, she seems at lastA speck in ether's boundless waste!Say,—borne upon her rapid wing,Shouldst thou not love on high to spring,And far above this world of careRoam free through crystal fields of air?But ah! her upward flight is past;From those bright realms descending fastShe quickly falls;—her flight is o'er,—She plants her foot on earth once more.And thus, on Fancy's pinions borne,Bright scenes of bliss the mind can form:And, raised above this world of woe,Can dream of bliss unknown below;Till—short that slumber's peaceful reign—The spirit wakes to earth again.E.
May 31, 1850,