Lucy Ashton’s Song by Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott’s works were quite present in the Brontë household. I’ve always wanted to read some of his novels to learn something of the influences Charlotte, Emily and Anne had, but somehow have never bumped them to the top of my reading list. For now, here’s a poem.
Lucy Ashton’s Song
By Sir Walter Scott
Look not thou on beauty’s charming;
Sit thou still when kings are arming;
Taste not when the wine-cup glistens;
Speak not when the people listens;
Stop thine ear against the singer;
From the red gold keep thy finger;
Vacant heart and hand and eye,
Easy live and quiet die.
A poem of complete withdrawal? I like the rhythms and the sounds.