Classic Poem

I
Fluttering spread thy purple pinions,
Gentle Cupid o'er my heart;
I a slave in thy dominions;
Nature must give way to art.
II

Mild Arcadians, ever blooming,
Nightly nodding o'er your flocks,
See my weary days consuming,
All beneath yon flowery rocks.
III

Thus the Cyprian goddess weeping,
Mourned Adonis, darling youth:
Him the boar in silence creeping,
Gored with unrelenting tooth.
IV

Cynthia, tune harmonious numbers;
Fair Discretion string the lyre;
Soothe my ever-waking slumbers:
Bright Apollo lend thy choir.
V

Gloomy Pluto, king of terrors,
Armed in adamantine chains,
Lead me to the crystal mirrors,
Watering soft Elysian plains.
VI

Mournful cypress, verdant willow,
Gilding my Aurelia's brows,
Morpheus hovering o'er my pillow,
Hear me pay my dying vows.
VII

Melancholy smooth Meander,
Swiftly purling in a round,
On thy margins lovers wander,
With thy flowery chaplets crowned.
VIII

Thus when Philomela drooping,
Softly seeks her silent mate;
See the bird of Juno stooping,
Melody resign to fate.