Page:Poems - Tennyson (1843) - Volume 1 of 2.djvu/195

A DREAM OF FAIR WOMEN.

i.

I Read, before my eyelids dropt their shade,

"The Legend of Good Women," long ago
Sung by the morning star of song, who made
His music heard below;

ii.

Dan Chaucer, the first warbler, whose sweet breath

Preluded those melodious bursts, that fill
The spacious times of great Elizabeth
With sounds that echo still.

iii.

And, for a while, the knowledge of his art

Held me above the subject, as strong gales
Hold swollen clouds from raining, though my heart,
Brimful of those wild tales,