Ode to Beauty

I see thee, beautiful and swift,
A shadowy throng in the immortal sea;
The dusky wing that moves near me
With flowers secretly rift.

Oh, couldst thou linger longer here!
Stand by my side,
And thwart this mortal tide,
That pulls and drags me away,
How could we rest in the ancient play?

In the sparkling petals, the silvered dew,
I wonder at the mystery anew
Of nature living and aglow,
While time embodies her endless flow, What you pour through the heart and bloom
Shall find its way to the eternal room.

• Ralph Waldo Emerson