Poem by Charlotte Turner Smith

Sonnet 77. To the Insect of the Gossamer

SMALL, viewless aeronaut, that by the line
Of Gossamer suspended, in mid air
Float'st on a sun beam--Living atom, where
Ends thy breeze-guided voyage;--with what design,
In ether dost thou launch thy form minute,
Mocking the eye?--Alas! before the veil
Of denser clouds shall hide thee, the pursuit
Of the keen Swift may end thy fairy sail!--
Thus on the golden thread that Fancy weaves
Buoyant, as Hope's illusive flattery breathes,
The young and visionary poet leaves
Life's dull realities, while sevenfold wreaths
Of rainbow-light around his head revolve.
Ah! soon at Sorrow's touch the radiant dreams dissolve! 

1. Sonnet Written in the Churchyard at Middleton in Sussex
2. Sonnet 32. To Melancholy. Written on the Banks of the Arun, October, 1785
3. Sonnet 26. To the River Arun
4. Sonnet 55. The Return of the Nightingale. Written in May, 1791
5. Sonnet 15. From Petrarch (WHERE the green leaves exclude the summer beam)

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