(idea) by Lometa Sat Jun 23 2001 at 20:58:32

Hesperides

    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.

    Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836-1907)

This poem is titled after Robert Herrick's book by the same name. Aldrich wrote an epigram on Herrick who was an English Cavalier: 
  No slightest golden rhyme he wrote
  That held not something men must quote;
  Thus by design or chance did he
  Drop anchors to posterity.

It's an extension of his praise of Herrick by the American poet who was a prolific writer of novels, poetry and short stories during the early 1800's. He drew upon his childhood experiences in New Hampshire in his popular classic The Story of a Bad Boy (1870) and his use of the surprise ending influenced the development of the short story.

Sources: Blair, Bob:
http://www.geocities.com/~bblair/001013.htm

Public domain text taken from The Poets’ Corner:
http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/2001/aldrich0101.html

CST Approved.

I like it!