CEREMONY
A striped blouse in a clearing by Bazille
Is, you may say, a patroness of boughs
Too queenly kindtoward nature to be kin.
But ceremony never did conceal,
Save to the silly eye, which all allows.
How much we are the woods we wander in.
Let her be some Sabrine fresh from stream,
Lucent as swallows slowed by wading sun,
Bedded on ffern, the flowers cynosure:
Then nymph and wood must nod and strive to dream
That she is airy earth, the trees, undone,
Must ape her langour natural and pure.
Ho hum. I am for wit and wake fulness,
And love this frigning lady by Bazille.
What's lightly hid is deepest understood,
And when with social smile and formal dress
She teaches leaves to curtsey and quadrille.
I think there are most tigers in the wood.
Richard Wilbur
HELP PLEASE!! What is the deeper meaning here... what does it mean!?
Not sure. Clearly the 'ho hum' is a switch in tone from the previous stanzas, and 'tigers' could be a WIlliam Blake reference. Perhaps this is the lady in question?:
[sunsite.sut.ac.jp]
He's looking at a picture, and making up stories about the sitter.
The last stanza sounds like he thinks that she's actually tough and strong underneath, not just a fine lady.
pam
A striped blouse in a clearing by Bazille
Is, you may say, a patroness of boughs
Too queenly kindtoward nature to be kin.
But ceremony never did conceal,
Save to the silly eye, which all allows.
How much we are the woods we wander in.
What is he saying about the artist?
I think there are most tigers in the wood.