SOCRATES SPEAKS <br /> <br />Hither, come hither, ye Clouds renowned, and unveil yourselves <br />here; <br />Come, though ye dwell on the sacred crests of Olympian snow, <br />Or whether ye dance with the Nereid Choir in the gardens clear, <br />Or whether your golden urns are dipped in Nile's overflow, <br />Or whether you dwell by Maeotis mere <br />Or the snows of Mimas, arise! appear! <br />And hearken to us, and accept our gifts ere ye rise and go. <br /> <br /> <br />THE CLOUDS SING <br /> <br />Immortal Clouds from the echoing shore <br />Of the father of streams from the sounding sea, <br />Dewy and fleet, let us rise and soar; <br />Dewy and gleaming and fleet are we! <br />Let us look on the tree-clad mountain-crest, <br />On the sacred earth where the fruits rejoice, <br />On the waters that murmur east and west, <br />On the tumbling sea with his moaning voice. <br />For unwearied glitters the Eye of the Air, <br />And the bright rays gleam; <br />Then cast we our shadows of mist, and fare <br />In our deathless shapes to glance everywhere <br />From the height of the heaven, on the land and air, <br />And the Ocean Stream. <br />Let us on, ye Maidens that bring the Rain, <br />Let us gaze on Pallas's citadel, <br />In the country of Cecrops fair and dear, <br />The mystic land of the holy cell, <br />Where the Rites unspoken securely dwell, <br />And the gifts of the gods that know not stain, <br />And a people of mortals that know not fear. <br />For the temples tall and the statues fair, <br />And the feasts of the gods are holiest there; <br />The feasts of Immortals, the chaplets of flowers, <br />And the Bromian mirth at the coming of spring, <br />And the musical voices that fill the hours, <br />And the dancing feet of the maids that sing!<br /><br />Aristophanes<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-cloud-chorus/
