Poetical Works of Robert Bridges, Volume 2

Chapter 46: 12

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About This Book

A compact collection of short lyrical poems that meditate on memory, seasonal change, love, and the natural world. Many pieces adopt an elegiac or contemplative tone, turning riverbanks, cliffs, gardens, and the sea into prompts for reflection on loss, longing, and the persistence of feeling. The verse mixes concise narrative moments, personified elements, and formal lyrical rhythms, producing musical and measured language. Poems are presented in grouped sections alongside newly gathered pieces and editorial notes, yielding a varied sequence of brief, reflective lyrics and conversational vignettes.

12

Thou didst delight my eyes:

Yet who am I? nor first

Nor last nor best, that durst

Once dream of thee for prize;

Nor this the only time

Thou shalt set love to rhyme.

Thou didst delight my ear:

Ah! little praise; thy voice

Makes other hearts rejoice,

Makes all ears glad that hear;

And short my joy: but yet,

O song, do not forget.

For what wert thou to me?

How shall I say? The moon,

That poured her midnight noon

Upon his wrecking sea;—

A sail, that for a day

Has cheered the castaway.