Sonnet XXIII To Miss E. S.
Do I not tell thee surly Winter’s flown,
That the brook’s verge is green;—and bid thee hear,
In yon irriguous vale, the Blackbird clear,
At measur’d intervals, with mellow tone,
Choiring 1the hours of prime? and call thine ear
To the gay viol dinning in the dale,
With tabor loud, and bag-pipe’s rustic drone
To merry Shearer’s dance;—or jest retail
From festal board, from choral roofs the song;
And speak of Masque, or Pageant, to beguile
The caustic memory of a cruel wrong?—
Thy lips acknowledge this a generous wile,
And bid me still the effort kind prolong;
But ah! they wear a cold and joyless smile.
Notes
1: “While Day arises, that sweet hour of prime.” Milton’s Par. Lost.