See what delights in sylvan scenes appear! <br />Descending Gods have found Elysium here. <br />In woods bright Venus with Adonis stray'd, <br />And chaste Diana haunts the forest shade. <br />Come lovely nymph, and bless the silent hours, <br />When swains from shearing seek their nightly bow'rs; <br />When weary reapers quit the sultry field, <br />And crown'd with corn, their thanks to Ceres yield. <br />This harmless grove no lurking viper hides, <br />But in my breast the serpent Love abides. <br />Here bees from blossoms sip the rosy dew, <br />But your Alexis knows no sweets but you. <br />Oh deign to visit our forsaken seats, <br />The mossy fountains, and the green retreats! <br />Where-e'er you walk, cool gales shall fan the glade, <br />Trees, where you sit, shall crowd into a shade, <br />Where-e'er you tread, the blushing flow'rs shall rise, <br />And all things flourish where you turn your eyes. <br />Oh! How I long with you to pass my days, <br />Invoke the muses, and resound your praise; <br />Your praise the birds shall chant in ev'ry grove, <br />And winds shall waft it to the pow'rs above. <br />But wou'd you sing, and rival Orpheus' strain, <br />The wond'ring forests soon shou'd dance again, <br />The moving mountains hear the pow'rful call, <br />And headlong streams hang list'ning in their fall! <br />But see, the shepherds shun the noon-day heat, <br />The lowing herds to murm'ring brooks retreat, <br />To closer shades the panting flocks remove, <br />Ye Gods! And is there no relief for Love? <br />But soon the sun with milder rays descends <br />To the cool ocean, where his journey ends; <br />On me Love's fiercer flames for ever prey, <br />By night he scorches, as he burns by day.<br /><br />Alexander Pope<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/summer/
