SD611. Edward Moulton-Barrett (brother) to Mary Moulton-Barrett
Published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 2, 347 (in part).
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May 1st 1827.
To
My dearest Mama
on
her birthday
_________
Ambition, since the world’s creation,
Has been the pest of every nation,
And all men who its sway have owned,
At last some great reverse have found.
Thus Cæsar the world’s mistress’ master,
In his great haste, ran so much faster
Than his legs could well support him,
That falling headlong, ruin caught him.
And so perversely is ambition
Mixed up in Nature’s composition,
That e’en the vegetable life,
Is with its baneful influence rife—
Th’ aspiring oak that seeks on high,
A cloud crown for his majesty–
Is shattered by the envious storm,
And prostrate falls a lifeless form.
Thus if like Cæsar, oak, or may be
More like the owl in Asop’s fable
Soaring too high I seek to say
All that I think and feel this day,
Dazzled by the brilliant light
Of such affection, as I write,
My brain unable to get higher
Will fail and drop me in the mire.
I therefore shall no more intrude
Upon your patience, but conclude
By wishing that each returning May,
May find thee happy as today.
And may our acts more clearly prove
Than words, the fervour of our love—
EMB–
Address, on integral page: Mrs Barrett / Hope End.
Publication: None traced.
Manuscript: Wellesley College.
___________________
