cr own readers

254 TO A SKYLARK.
1. ' Yhat thou art we kn ow not ;
What is most like thee 1
From rainbow clouds there flow not
-Drops so bright to see,
As from thy presence showers a rain of melody.
8. Like a poet hid den
I n the light of th ought,
Singing hymns unbidden,
Till th e world is wrought
To sympath y with hopes and fears it heeded not.
9. Li ke a high -born maiden
In a palac e tower,
Soothing her love-laden
Soul in secret hour
With music sweet as love, which overflows her bower.
10. Like a glowworm golden
I n a dell of dew,
Scattering unbeholden
Its aerial hue
Among th e flowers and grass which screen it from the
view.
11. Li ke a rose embowered
I n its own green leaves,
By warm winds deflowered,
Till the scent it gi ves
Makes fain t with too much sweet these heavy-winged
thi eves.
12. Sound of vernal showers
On the tw inkling grass,
Rain-awakened flowers,
All that ever was
J oyous, and clear, and fresh, thy music doth surpass.