John Howard Payne

Here you will find the Poem Sibyl of poet John Howard Payne

Sibyl

THIS is the glamour of the world antique: 
The thyme-scents of Hymettus fill the air, 
And in the grass narcissus-cups are fair. 
The full brook wanders through the ferns to seek 
The amber haunts of bees; and on the peak 
Of the soft hill, against the gold-marged sky, 
She stands, a dream from out the days gone by. 
Entreat her not. Indeed, she will not speak! 
Her eyes are full of dreams; and in her ears 
There is the rustle of immortal wings; 
And ever and anon the slow breeze bears 
The mystic murmur of the songs she sings. 
Entreat her not: she sees thee not, nor hears 
Aught but the sights and sounds of bygone springs.