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Home  »  Specimens of American Poetry  »  William Maxwell (1784–1857)

Samuel Kettell, ed. Specimens of American Poetry. 1829.

By To a Fair Lady

William Maxwell (1784–1857)

FAIREST, mourn not for thy charms,

Circled by no lover’s arms;

While inferior belles, you see,

Pick up husbands merrily.

Sparrows when they choose to pair,

Meet their matches anywhere;

But the Phœnix, sadly great,

Cannot find an equal mate.

Earth, though dark, enjoys the honor

Of a moon to wait upon her;

Venus, though divinely bright,

Cannot boast a satellite.