Hesperides

Thomas Bailey Aldrich 1836 (Portsmouth) – 1907 (Boston)



If thy soul, Herrick, dwelt with me,
This is what my songs would be:
Hints of our sea-breezes, blent
With odors from the Orient;
Indian vessels deep with spice;
Star-showers from the Norland ice;
Wine-red jewels that seem to hold
Fire, but only burn with cold;
Antique goblets, strangely wrought,
Filled with the wine of happy thought,
Bridal measure, vain regrets,
Laburnum buds and violets;
Hopeful as the break of day;
Clear as crystal; new as May;
Musical as brooks that run
O'er yellow shallows in the sun;
Soft as the satin fringe that shades
The eyelids of thy Devon maids;
Brief as thy lyrics, Herrick, are,
And polished as the bosom of a star.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 18, 2023

35 sec read
27

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABBCCBBBBDEBFGGHHII
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 660
Words 117
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 20

Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Thomas Bailey Aldrich was a poet novelist traveler and editor more…

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