Classic Poem

I STOOD beside a pool, from whence ascended,
Mounting the cloudy platforms of the wind,
A stately hern — its soaring I attended,
Till it grew dim, and I with watching blind —
When, lo! a shaft of arrowy light descended
Upon its darkness and its dim attire:
It straightway kindled then, and was afire,
And with the unconsuming radiance blended.
A bird, a cloud, fleeking the sunny air,
It had its golden dwelling 'mid the lightning
Of those empyreal domes, and it might there
Have dwelt for ever, glorified and bright'ning,
But that its wings were weak — so it became
A dusky speck again, that was a winged flame.