| Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900. |
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| John Keats. 1795–1821 |
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629. Fragment of an Ode to Maia
(Written on May-Day, 1818) |
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| MOTHER of Hermes! and still youthful Maia! | |
| May I sing to thee | |
| As thou wast hymnèd on the shores of Baiæ? | |
| Or may I woo thee | |
| In earlier Sicilian? or thy smiles | 5 |
| Seek as they once were sought, in Grecian isles, | |
| By bards who died content on pleasant sward, | |
| Leaving great verse unto a little clan? | |
| O give me their old vigour! and unheard | |
| Save of the quiet primrose, and the span | 10 |
| Of heaven, and few ears, | |
| Rounded by thee, my song should die away | |
| Content as theirs, | |
| Rich in the simple worship of a day. | |
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