Cowper, whose silver voice, tasked sometimes hard, <br />Legends prolix delivers in the ears <br />(Attentive when thou read'st) of England's peers, <br />Let verse at length yield thee thy just reward. <br /> <br />Thou wast not heard with drowsy disregard, <br />Expending late on all that length of plea <br />Thy generous powers, but silence honoured thee, <br />Mute as e'er gazed on orator or bard. <br /> <br />Thou art not voice alone, but hast beside <br />Both heart and head; and couldst with music sweet <br />Of attic phrase and senatorial tone, <br />Like thy renowned forefathers, far and wide <br />Thy fame diffuse, praised not for utterance meet <br />Of others' speech, but magic of thy own.<br /><br />William Cowper<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/sonnet-to-henry-cowper-esq/
