Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, LOCKERBIE FAIR, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

LOCKERBIE FAIR, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: O the lockerbie fair! - have you
Last Line: Simply waiting your orders, at lockerbie fair.
Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F.
Subject(s): Festivals; Moon; Night; Fairs; Pageants; Bedtime


O THE Lockerbie Fair! -- Have you heard of its fame
And its fabulous riches, too rare for a name! --
The gold of the noon of the June-time refined
To the Orient-Night, till the eyes and the mind
Are dazed with the sights, in the earth and the air,
Of the opulent splendors of Lockerbie Fair.

What more fortunate fate might to mortal befall,
Midst the midsummer beauty and bloom of it all,
Than to glit with the moon o'er the rapturous scene
And twink with the stars as they laughingly lean
O'er the luminous revel and glamour and glare
Fused in one dazzling glory at Lockerbie Fair.

The Night, like a queen in her purple and lace,
With her diamonded brow, and imperious grace,
As she leads her fair votaries, train upon train,
A-dance thro' the feasts of this mystic domain
To the mandolin's twang, and the warble and blare
Of voice, flute and bugle at Lockerbie Fair.

All strange, ever-changing, enchanted delights
Found now in this newer Arabian Nights, --
Where each lovely maid is a Princess, and each
Lucky swain an Aladdin -- all treasures in reach
Of the "lamps" and the "rings" -- and with Genii to spare,
Simply waiting your orders, at Lockerbie Fair.





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