A Frisky Lamb
July 5, 2023Sonnet XLVII: To Fancy
July 5, 2023Written near a Port on a Dark Evening
Huge vapours brood above the clifted shore,
Night on the ocean settles dark and mute,
Save where is heard the repercussive roar
Of drowsy billows on the rugged foot
Of rocks remote; or still more distant tone
Of seamen in the anchored bark that tell
The watch relieved; or one deep voice alone
Singing the hour, and bidding “Strike the bell!”
All is black shadow but the lucid line
Marked by the light surf on the level sand,
Or where afar the ship-lights faintly shine
Like wandering fairy fires, that oft on land
Misled the pilgrim–such the dubious ray
That wavering reason lends in life’s long darkling way.
Charlotte Smith
Charlotte Smith (1749-1806) was an English Romantic poet and novelist. She is best known for her poetry, which often explored themes of nature, the beauty of the English countryside, and the plight of women in society. She is considered an important early feminist writer.