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Claribel

A MELODY

First published in 1830.

In 1830 and in 1842 edd. the poem is in one long stanza, with a full stop in 1830 ed. after line 8; 1842 ed. omits the full stop. The name "Claribel" may have been suggested by Spenser ('F. Q.', ii., iv., or Shakespeare, 'Tempest').

1
  Where Claribel low-lieth
  The breezes pause and die,
  Letting the rose-leaves fall:
  But the solemn oak-tree sigheth,
  Thick-leaved, ambrosial,
  With an ancient melody
  Of an inward agony,
  Where Claribel low-lieth.
2
  At eve the beetle boometh
  Athwart the thicket lone:
  At noon the wild bee [1] hummeth
  About the moss'd headstone:
  At midnight the moon cometh,
  And looketh down alone.
  Her song the lintwhite swelleth,
  The clear-voiced mavis dwelleth,
  The callow throstle [2] lispeth,
  The slumbrous wave outwelleth,
  The babbling runnel crispeth,
  The hollow grot replieth
  Where Claribel low-lieth.

[Footnote 1: 1830. "Wild" omitted, and "low" inserted with a hyphen before "hummeth".]

[Footnote 2: 1851 and all previous editions, "fledgling" for "callow".]

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