Classic Poem

The Sun-god was reclining on a couch of rosy shells,
And in the foamy waters Nereids tinkled silver bells,
That lent the soft air sweetness, like an echoed seraph song,
Floating with snowflake hush the aisles of Paradise along.

The Sun-god wove bright flowers, gold and purple in their hue,
And to the smiling Nereids tenderly the blossoms threw;
The sapphire seas were shadowy, like an eye with dreamy thought,
Where all the soul's mute rapture, a prisoned star, is caught.

The billows' rainbow splendor, like a strange, enchanting dream,
In fading, softened slowly to a trembling pearly gleam;
And soon the wondrous Sun-God, and the Nereids and the sea
Had vanished; one gray-tinted cloud alone remained to me.