ENIGMA
I am composed of twenty-one letters.
My 3-6-21-19-14-8-1 is sincere.
My 12-17-7-18-20-5 is a mineral.
My 9-2-3-10-4-17-11-1 is a bird.
My 16-13-20-19-15 is to mingle.
My whole is the name of a well-known song.
—William Harris.
I am the first, and one of seven,
I live betwixt the seas and heaven:
Look not below, for I am not there,
My home is in the ancient air.
Come to my second, behold how fair
I am, how bright and debonair:
A pleasant vision and a beauty,
A thing of life and joy and duty;
My youth is changed. I live alone,
My views are crossed—my hopes are gone,
My whole is sorrow, grief, and woe,
My singing now is all heigh-ho.
—Selected.