II

Who brought thee forth, immortal vision, who

In Phthia or in Tempe brought thee forth?

Out of the sunlight and the sapful earth

What god the simples of thy spirit drew?

A goddess rose from the green waves, and threw

Her arms about a king, to give thee birth;

A centaur, patron of thy boyish mirth,

Over the meadows in thy footsteps flew.

Now Thessaly forgets thee, and the deep

Thy keeled bark furrowed answers not thy prayer

But far away new generations keep

Thy laurels fresh, where branching Isis hems

The lawns of Oxford round about, or where

Enchanted Eton sits by pleasant Thames.

A Hermit of Carmel, and Other Poems · 第 36 / 79 题