Poems on Various Subjects (Coleridge)/Effusion 26, on a Kiss
EFFUSION XXVI.
CUPID, if storying[1] Legends tell aright,
Once fram'd a rich Elixir of Delight.
A Chalice o'er love-kindled flames he fix'd,
And in it Nectar and Ambrosia mix'd:
With these the magic dews, which Evening brings,
Brush'd from the Idalian star by faery wings:
Each tender pledge of sacred Faith he join'd,
Each gentler Pleasure of th' unspotted mind—
Day-dreams, whose tints with sportive brightness glow
And Hope, the blameless Parasite of Woe.
The eyeless Chemist heard the process rife,
The steamy Chalice bubbled up in sighs;
Sweet sounds transpir'd, as when the enamour'd Dove
Pours the soft murm'ring of responsive Love.
The finished work might Envy vainly blame,
And "Kisses" was the precious Compounds' name.
With half the God his Cyprian Mother blest,
And breath'd on Sara's lovelier lips the rest.
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