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Home  »  Parnassus  »  Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892)

Ralph Waldo Emerson, comp. (1803–1882). Parnassus: An Anthology of Poetry. 1880.

To the Critic

Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892)

I.
VEX not thou the poet’s mind

With thy shallow wit:

Vex not thou the poet’s mind;

For thou canst not fathom it.

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II.
Dark-browed sophist, come not anear;
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Hollow smile and frozen sneer

Come not here.

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The flowers would faint at your cruel cheer.

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In the heart of the garden the merry bird chants,

It would fall to the ground if you came in.