Life (priest and poet say) is but a dream; <br />I wish no happier one than to be laid <br />Beneath a cool syringa’s scented shade, <br />Or wavy willow, by the running stream, <br />Brimful of moral, where the dragon-fly, <br />Wanders as careless and content as I. <br /> <br />Thanks for this fancy, insect king, <br />Of purple crest and filmy wing, <br />Who with indifference givest up <br />The water-lily’s golden cup, <br />To come again and overlook <br />What I am writing in my book. <br />Believe me, most who read the line <br />Will read with hornier eyes than thine; <br />And yet their souls shall live for ever, <br />And thine drop dead into the river! <br />God pardon them, O insect king, <br />Who fancy so unjust a thing!<br /><br />Walter Savage Landor<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-dragon-fly/
