Here’s a poem called To the Gnat by Samuel Rogers. It seems like a fitting poem with summer quickly approaching and bringing with it those pesky gnats!
You’ll find the words and an mp3 recording below. After the poem you can find definitions to some of the words that are lesser known.
To The Gnat
By Samuel Rogers
When by the green-wood side, at summer eve,
Poetic visions charm my closing eye;
And fairy-scenes, that Fancy loves to weave,
Shift to wild notes of sweetest Minstrelsy;
‘Tis thine to range in busy quest of prey,
Thy feathery antlers quivering with delight,
Brush from my lids the hues of heav’n away,
And all is Solitude, and all is Night!
–Ah now thy barbed shaft, relentless fly,
Unsheaths its terrors in the sultry air!
No guardian sylph, in golden panoply,
Lifts the broad shield, and points the glittering spear.
Now near and nearer rush thy whirring wings,
Thy dragon-scales still wet with human gore.
Hark, thy shrill horn its fearful larum flings!
–I wake in horror, and ‘dare sleep no more!’
Read by Richard Macnamee
Definitions:
Sylph: A mythological creature that’s invisible and inhabits the air.
Panoply: A splendid array.
Larum: An alarm.
This article was posted on Tuesday, June 4th, 2013 at 4:44 pm and is filed under Mama Lisa. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
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