Poems (Hornblower)/Sonnet, suggested by the Author's being asked, "What is the most beautiful Object in Nature?"
SONNET,
Suggested by the Author's being asked, "What is the most beautiful object in nature?"
What is in nature's forms most beautiful?
The soft, pale Moon, when through the expanse of night
She sheds o'er heaven's blue vault her gentle light,
Making the dark clouds with her splendour full,
Serenely sailing on her path of bliss?—
Or the young Sun, when from the burning east
He rises radiant through the morning mist,
And wakes the world to life and happiness?—
Or the wide Sea, which with unbounded surge
Rolls on, the image of eternity?
No—these are beauteous—but unconsciously
Then destined course they through creation urge—
There is a form more glorious and more bright,
The human eye, filled with the soul's pure light!
The soft, pale Moon, when through the expanse of night
She sheds o'er heaven's blue vault her gentle light,
Making the dark clouds with her splendour full,
Serenely sailing on her path of bliss?—
Or the young Sun, when from the burning east
He rises radiant through the morning mist,
And wakes the world to life and happiness?—
Or the wide Sea, which with unbounded surge
Rolls on, the image of eternity?
No—these are beauteous—but unconsciously
Then destined course they through creation urge—
There is a form more glorious and more bright,
The human eye, filled with the soul's pure light!