SONG
By James Thomson
"The Nightingale was not yet heard,
For the Rose was not yet blown."[1]
His heart was quiet as a bird
Asleep in the night alone,
And never were its pulses stirred
To breathe or joy or moan:
The Nightingale was not yet heard
For the Rose was not yet blown.
Then She bloomed forth before his sight
In passion and in power,
And filled the very day with light,
So glorious was her dower;
And made the whole vast moonlit night
As fragrant as a bower:
The young, the beautiful, the bright,
The splendid peerless Flower.
Whereon his heart was like a bird
When Summer mounts his throne,
And all its pulses thrilled and stirred
To songs of joy and moan,
To every most impassioned word
And most impassioned tone;
The Nightingale at length was heard
For the Rose at length was blown.
February 1877.
Author's note: [1] “Traveller in Persia” (Mr.
Binning);
cited by Mr. Fitz-Gerald in the notes to his translation
of Omar Khayyam.
This poem was transcribed and proofread by George
Jelliss of Leicester, England, U.K.
This poem was added to this site March 16, 2006.
The page last changed
November 20, 2009 4:06 AM
.
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