| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | II. Pursuit and Possession | | By Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836–1907) |
| | | WHEN I behold what pleasure is Pursuit, | |
| What life, what glorious eagerness it is; | |
| Then mark how full Possession falls from this, | |
| How fairer seems the blossom than the fruit,— | |
| I am perplext, and often stricken mute, | 5 |
| Wondering which attained the higher bliss, | |
| The wingéd insect, or the chrysalis | |
| It thrust aside with unreluctant foot. | |
| Spirit of verse which still eludes my art, | |
| You shapes of loveliness that still do haunt me, | 10 |
| O never, never rest upon my heart, | |
| If when I have thee I shall little want thee! | |
| Still flit away in moonlight, rain, and dew, | |
| Wills o’ the wisp, that I may still pursue! | | | | |
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