THE QUEST.
I.
First I asked the honey-bee,
Busy in the balmy bowers;
Saying, "Sweetheart, tell it me:
Have you seen her, honey-bee?
She is cousin to the flowers—
Wild-rose face and wild-rose mouth,
And the sweetness of the south."—
But it passed me silently.
II.
Then I asked the forest-bird,
Warbling to the woodland waters;
Saying, "Dearest, have you heard,
Have you heard her, forest-bird?
She is one of Music's daughters—
Music is her happy laugh;
Never song so sweet by half."—
But it answered not a word.
III.
Next I asked the evening sky,
Hanging out its lamps of fire;
Saying, "Loved one, passed she by?
Tell me, tell me, evening sky!
She, the star of my desire—
Planet-eyed and hair moon-glossed,
Sister whom the Pleiads lost."—
But it never made reply.