Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry. 1904.
I. AdmirationSong: The shape alone let others prize
Mark Akenside (17211770)T
The features of the fair:
I look for spirit in her eyes,
And meaning in her air.
Shall ne’er my wishes win:
Give me an animated form,
That speaks a mind within.
Where sense and sweetness move,
And angel innocence refines
The tenderness of love.
Without whose vital aid
Unfinished all her features seem,
And all her roses dead.
How perfect is the view,
With every image of delight,
With graces ever new:
The wildest rage control,
Diffusing mildness o’er the brow,
And rapture through the soul.
All language must despair;
But go, behold Arpasia’s face,
And read it perfect there.