| Arthur Quiller-Couch, comp. The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse. 1922. | | | | To My Tortoise [Anagki] | | By Eugene Lee-Hamilton (1845–1907) |
| | | SAY it were true that thou outliv’st us all, | |
| O footstool once of Venus; come, renew | |
| Thy tale of old Greek isles, where thy youth grew | |
| In myrtle shadow, near her temple wall; | |
| Or tell me how the eagle let thee fall | 5 |
| Upon the Greek bard’s head from heaven’s blue, | |
| And Apathy killed Song. And is it true | |
| That thy domed shell would bear a huge stone ball? | |
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| O Tortoise, Tortoise, there are weights, alack! | |
| Heavier than stone, and viewless as the air, | 10 |
| Which none have ever tried upon thy back; | |
| Which, ever and anon, we men must bear— | |
| Weights which would make thy solid cover crack | |
| And how we bear them, let those ask who care! | | | | |
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