| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | II. Placid Objects of Contemplation | | By William Wordsworth (1770–1850) |
| | | NOT Love, not War, nor the tumultuous swell | |
| Of civil conflict, nor the wrecks of change, | |
| Nor Duty struggling with afflictions strange, | |
| Not these alone inspire the tuneful shell; | |
| But where untroubled peace and concord dwell, | 5 |
| There also is the Muse not loath to range, | |
| Watching the twilight smoke of cot or grange | |
| Skyward ascending from a woody dell. | |
| Meek aspirations please her, lone endeavor, | |
| And sage content, and placid melancholy; | 10 |
| She loves to gaze upon a crystal river, | |
| Diaphanous, because it travels slowly. | |
| Soft is the music that would charm forever; | |
| The flower of sweetest smell is shy and lowly. | | | | |
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