How thought you that this thing could captivate?
What are those graces that could make her dear,
Who is not worth the notice of a sneer,
To rouse the vapid devil of her hate?
A speech conventional, so void of weight,
That after it has buzzed about one’s ear,
‘Twere rich refreshment for a week to hear
The dentist babble or the barber prate;
A hand displayed with many a little art;
An eye that glances on her neighbor’s dress;
A foot too often shown for my regard;
An angel’s form — a waiting-woman’s heart;
A perfect-featured face, expressionless,
Insipid, as the Queen upon a card.
***
More poems by Baron Alfred, Lord Tennyson
![Alfred 1st Baron Tennyson](https://www.poetry.monster/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/800px-Alfred_Tennyson_1st_Baron_Tennyson_by_George_Frederic_Watts-150x150.jpg)