The Charms of Beauty

The Charms of Beauty

O muse, attune my lyre sweet,

The moments to beguile;

Oh, endite a sonnet meet,

To BEAUTY'S placid smile.

Care may prey upon the heart,

And make it bleed awhile,

But, how transient is the smart,

When BEAUTY beams a smile.

Doom'd in distant climes to roam,

Or, on some desert isle;

Or `mid the scenes of peaceful home,

How sweet is BEAUTY'S smile.

Bound in adamantine chains,

Of slavery so vile;

Oh, what can mitigate the pains,

Like BEAUTY'S tender smile!

Lilly, or of rosy hue,

Deck'd in gay or plain style:

If her bosom's only true,

What a charm-like BEAUTY'S smile.

In palace, or in cottage neat,

There is a pleasing smile;

Something so sublimely sweet, -

In BEAUTY'S lovely smile!

Oh, sweet elysium of love!

Untarnished by guile;

How cheerfully the passions move,

When BEAUTY beams a smile.

He who can reject her charms,

Be banished in exile!

He whose bosom never warms,

When BEAUTY beams a Smile!

Imlac

2:18, p. 143

1828.07.25