Ballade of the Bookworm
Far in the Past I peer, and see
A Child upon the Nursery floor,
A Child with books upon his knee,
Who asks, like Oliver, for more!
The number of his years is IV,
And yet in Letters hath he skill,
How deep he dives in Fairy-lore!
The Books I loved,
I love them still!
One gift the Fairies gave me:
(Three They commonly
Bestowed of yore)
The Love of Books, the Golden Key
That opens the Enchanted Door;
Behind it BLUEBEARD lurks,
And o'er and o'er
Doth JACK his Giants kill,
And there is all ALADDIN'S store,
The Books I loved
I love them still!
Take all, But leave my Books to me!
These heavy creeds of old we bore
We fill not now, nor wander free,
Nor wear the heart
That once we wore;
Not now eash River seems to pour
His waters from the Muses' hill;
Though something's gone
From stream and shore,
The Books I loved,
I love them still!
No comments:
Post a Comment