Nature

O Nature!

I do not

To be the highest in thy choir, -To be a meteor in thy sky,

Or comet that may range on high;

Only a zephyr that may

Among the reeds by the river low;

Give me thy most privy

Where to run my airy race.

In some withdrawn, unpublic

Let me sigh upon a reed,

Or in the woods, with leafy din,

Whisper the still evening in:

Some still work give me to do, -Only - be it near to you!

For I'd rather be thy

And pupil, in the forest wild,

Than be the king of men elsewhere,

And most sovereign slave of care;

To have one moment of thy dawn,

Than share the city's year forlorn.