The Poetical Works of John Keats/Written on May Day
For other versions of this work, see Fragment of an Ode to Maia.
WRITTEN ON MAY DAY.
Mother of Hermes! and still youthful Maia!
May I sing to thee
As thou wast hymned on the shores of Baiæ?
Or may I woo thee
In earlier Sicilian? or thy smiles
Seek as they once were sought, in Grecian isles,
By bards who died content on pleasant sward,
Leaving great verse unto a little clan?
O, give me their old vigor, and unheard
Save of the quiet Primrose, and the span
Of heaven and few ears,
Rounded by thee, my song should die away
Content as theirs,
Rich in the simple worship of a day.[1]
- ↑ It is much to be regretted he did not finish this Ode; this commencement is in his best manner: the sentiment and expression perfect.