282. She was a Phantom of Delight by William Wordsworth
W Wordsworth read by Classic Poetry Aloud:\nhttp://www.classicpoetryaloud.com/\n\nGiving voice to the poetry of the past.\n\n---------------------------------------------\n\nShe was a Phantom of Delight\nby William Wordsworth (1770 \u2013 1850)\n\nShe was a Phantom of delight\nWhen first she gleamed upon my sight;\nA lovely Apparition, sent\nTo be a moment's ornament:\nHer eyes as stars of twilight fair;\nLike twilight's, too, her dusky hair;\nBut all things else about her drawn\nFrom May-time and the cheerful dawn;\nA dancing shape, an image gay,\nTo haunt, to startle, and waylay.\n\nI saw her upon nearer view,\nA Spirit, yet a Woman too!\nHer household motions light and free,\nAnd steps of virgin liberty;\nA countenance in which did meet\nSweet records, promises as sweet;\nA creature not too bright or good\nFor human nature's daily food,\nFor transient sorrows, simple wiles,\nPraise, blame, love, kisses, tears, and smiles.\n\nAnd now I see with eye serene\nThe very pulse of the machine;\nA being breathing thoughtful breath,\nA traveller between life and death:\nThe reason firm, the temperate will,\nEndurance, foresight, strength, and skill;\nA perfect Woman, nobly plann'd\nTo warn, to comfort, and command;\nAnd yet a Spirit still, and bright\nWith something of an angel light.\n\n\nFor hundreds more poetry readings, visit the Classic Poetry Aloud index.\n\nReading \xa9 Classic Poetry Aloud 2008