What is your substance, whereof are you made, That millions of strange shadows on you tend? Since every one hath, every one, one shade, And you, but one, can every shadow lend. Describe Adonis, and the counterfeit Is poorly imitated after you; On Helen's cheek all art of beauty set, And you in Grecian tires are painted new. Speak of the spring and foison of the year: The one doth shadow of your beauty show, The other as your bounty doth appear; And you in every blessèd shape we know. In all external grace you have some part, But you like none, none you, for constant heart.
Some shoots and stalks stand out -- Taller than the masses. Their form eludes pursuit, Sound slips through, like gases. Great lines are always disjunct: Don't weave with mid'ling lyrics. They're pent up and peerless: Chop them? A win that's pyrrhic. Jade flecks make mountains shimmer, Pearly waters enchant. The thicket mustn't be clipped If Kingfisher's glory, grant. Stitched words end under snow, Work the weft, steady and slow.
But I can’t help but notice That the flower is long-stemmed, Raising it high above the mud.
A tropical newbie, I used to confuse Lotuses & Water Lilies. Then I learned the simplest Way to distinguish the flowers (From a distance) Is that Lily pads Rest on the water, While Lotus leafs Also try to rise above the muddy water.
I can’t help but wonder whether Our admiration has made the Lotus too good for its mud?
The modest Rose puts forth a thorn, The humble Sheep a threat’ning horn; While the Lilly white shall in Love delight, Nor a thorn, nor a threat, stain her beauty bright.
Helen, thy beauty is to me Like those Nicéan barks of yore, That gently, o'er a perfumed sea, The weary, way-worn wanderer bore To his own native shore.
On desperate seas long wont to roam, Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face, Thy Naiad airs have brought me home To the glory that was Greece, And the grandeur that was Rome.
Lo! in yon brilliant window-niche How statue-like I see thee stand, The agate lamp within thy hand! Ah, Psyche, from the regions which Are Holy-Land!
Tiger Riding for Beginners 