Amy Lowell (
1874-
1925)
Tell me,
Was
Venus more beautiful
Than you are,
When she topped
The crinkled waves,
Drifting shoreward
On her plaited shell?
Was
Botticelli's
vision
Fairer than mine;
And were the painted
rosebuds
He tossed his lady
Of better worth
Than the words I blow about you
To cover your too great loveliness
As with a gauze
Of misted silver?
For me,
You stand poised
In the blue and buoyant air,
Cinctured by bright winds,
Treading the
sunlight.
And the waves which precede you
Ripple and stir
The sands at my feet.
"Venus Transiens" is Latin for "Venus passing over"