A CHRISTMAS GIFT

ALACK-A-DAY for poverty!

What jewels my mind doth give to thee!

Carved agate stone porphyrogene,

Green emerald and beryl green,

Deep sapphine and pale amethyst,

Sly opal, cloaking with a mist

The levin of its love elate,

Shy brides’ pearls, flushed and delicate,

Sea-colored lapis lazuli,

Sardonyx and chalcedony,

Enkindling diamond, candid gold,

Red rubies and red garnets bold:

And all their humors should be blent

In one intolerable blaze,

Barbaric, fierce, and opulent,

To dazzle him that dared to gaze!

Alack-a-day for poverty:

My rhymes are all you get of me!

Yet, if your heart receive, behold!

The worthless words are set in gold.