To the Muses by Alice Meynell — Read

WHETHER on Ida's shady brow,

Or in the chambers of the East,

The chambers of the sun, that now

From ancient melody have ceased;

Whether in heaven ye wander fair,

Or the green corners of the earth,

Or the blue regions of the air,

Where the melodious winds have birth;

Whether on crystal rocks ye rove / Beneath the bosom of the sea, / Wandering in many a coral grove,- / Fair Nine, forsaking Poetry;

How have you left the ancient love / That bards of old enjoyed in you! / The languid strings do scarcely move, / The sound is forced, the notes are few.