Astrophel and Stella: III
by Sir Philip Sidney
Let dainty wits cry on the sisters nine,
That, bravely mask’d, their fancies may be told;
Or, Pindar’s apes, flaunt they in phrases fine,
Enam’ling with pied flowers their thoughts of gold.
Or else let them in statelier glory shine,
Ennobling newfound tropes with problems old;
Or with strange similes enrich each line,
Of herbs or beasts which Ind or Afric hold.
For me, in sooth, no Muse but one I know;
Phrases and problems from my reach do grow,
And strange things cost too dear for my poor sprites.
How then? even thus: in Stella’s face I read
What love and beauty be; then all my deed
But copying is, what in her Nature writes.
End of the poem
15 random poems
- Василий Лебедев-Кумач – Водовоз
- Orlando Furioso Canto 19 by Ludovico Ariosto
- Interrupted Meditation by Robert Hass
- Composition by Peter Cooley
- Спиридон Дрожжин – Из поэмы “Дуняша”
- She by Rabindranath Tagore
- Last Wish by Théophile Gautier
- A Rythm Upon Our Trusts by Michael McGovern
- On Messrs Hussey and Coffin by Phillis Wheatley
- October by Siegfried Sassoon
- Passion Of My Heart by Stevens Cadet
- Senses by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Prison Of The Past
- The Gardener LV: It Was Mid-Day by Rabindranath Tagore
- Riden Hwome At Night by William Barnes
Some external links:
Duckduckgo.com – the alternative in the US
Quant.com – a search engine from France, and also an alternative, at least for Europe
Yandex – the Russian search engine (it’s probably the best search engine for image searches).

Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586) was an English courtier, statesman, soldier, diplomat, writer, and patron of scholars and poets. He was a godson of Philip II of Spain. Sir Philip Sidney was considered the ideal gentleman of his day. He is also one of the most important poets of the Elizabethan Era.