When fixed his gaze upon the stone, <br />The artist saw a nymph inside, <br />And fire ran through vein his own - <br />He flew to her in all his heart. <br /> <br />But though full of strong desire, <br />He's now overcome the spell: <br />The chisel, piecemeal and unhurried, <br />From his high goddess, sanctified, <br />Removes a shell after a shell. <br /> <br />In the sweet and vague preoccupation <br />More than a day or a year will pass; <br />But from the goddess of his passion, <br />The fallen veil will not be last, <br /> <br />Until, perceiving his desire, <br />Under the chisel's gentle caress, <br />And answering by a gaze of fire, <br />Sweat Galatea brings entire <br />The sage into a first embrace.<br /><br />Yevgeny Abramovich Baratynsky<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-sculptor-12/
