["HER ONLY PILOT THE SOFT BREEZE, THE BOAT"]
Composed 1827.—Published 1827
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.
Her only pilot the soft breeze, the boat
Lingers, but Fancy is well satisfied;
With keen-eyed Hope, with Memory, at her side,
And the glad Muse at liberty to note
All that to each is precious, as we float 5
Gently along; regardless who shall chide
If the heavens smile, and leave us free to glide,
Happy Associates breathing air remote
From trivial cares. But, Fancy and the Muse,
Why have I crowded this small bark with you 10
And others of your kind, ideal crew!
While here sits One whose brightness owes its hues
To flesh and blood; no Goddess from above,
No fleeting Spirit, but my own true Love?[449]
FOOTNOTES:
[449] The reminiscence of a day spent on Grasmere Lake with Mrs. Wordsworth.
Compare Robert Browning's lines—
No angel, but a dearer being
All dipt in angel instincts.—Ed.