About the Emperor’s thumb revolving,
Mouthed by Manchu’s enamelled dragon;
Upon the damasked barge, dissolving
Within the deep Egyptian flagon;
Downcast before the swine of Circe;
Poised between double diamond prisms;
Clipped by the horseshoe nail that hearsay
Declares a cure for rheumatisms;
If the artificer be Vulcan
Or microscopical Cellini
To set an eyeball for a falcon
Or carve a button for a genie;
And whether cupped in gold or copper,
In frigid silver or the burly
Embrace of bronze; stained by the upper
Cloud colours, or profound sea-pearly
Whether consuming or congealing
In fire or salt; O never shall you
Find an enchantment for concealing
This little moon’s enormous value!
Elinor Wylie
(Elinor Wylie)
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Based on Topics: Fire Poems, Gold Poems, Romantic Love Poems, Value PoemsBased on Keywords: enamelled, vulcan, flagon, artificer, burly, mouthed, eyeball, horseshoe, congealing, hearsay, genie