TO A MOTHERLESS CHILD Aн, child, thou art but half thy darling mother's; Hers couldst thou wholly be, My light in thee would outglow all in others; She would relive to me. But niggard Nature's trick of birth Bars, lest she overjoy, Renewal of the loved on earth Save with alloy. The Dame has no regard, alas, my maiden, No sympathy with mind-sight memory-laden; To her mechanic artistry My dreams are all unknown, And why I wish that thou couldst be "I NEED NOT GO" I NEED not go Through sleet and snow To where I know She waits for me; She will tarry me there Till I find it fair, And have time to spare From company. When I've overgot And if some day, When none cries nay, To seek her side, 98 I NEED NOT GO" (Though ample measure What—not upbraid me SHELLEY'S SKYLARK (The neighbourhood of Leghorn: March 1887) SOMEWHERE afield here something lies The dust of the lark that Shelley heard, Lived its meek life; then, one day, fell— Maybe it rests in the loam I view, Of a grape on the slopes of yon inland scene. Go find it, faeries, go and find That tiny pinch of priceless dust, |