Samuel Kettell, ed. Specimens of American Poetry. 1829.
By To a Fair LadyWilliam Maxwell (1784–1857)
F
Circled by no lover’s arms;
While inferior belles, you see,
Pick up husbands merrily.
Sparrows when they choose to pair,
Meet their matches anywhere;
But the Phœnix, sadly great,
Cannot find an equal mate.
Earth, though dark, enjoys the honor
Of a moon to wait upon her;
Venus, though divinely bright,
Cannot boast a satellite.