The Best of Poe | Sonnet—To Science

Sonnet—To Science

Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art!
Who alterest all things with thy peering eyes.
Why preyest thou thus upon the poet's heart,
Vulture, whose wings are dull realities?
How should he love thee? or how deem thee wise,
Who wouldst not leave him in his wandering
To seek for treasure in the jewelled skies,
Albeit he soared with an undaunted wing?
Hast thou not dragged Diana from her car?
And driven the Hamadryad from the wood
To seek a shelter in some happier star?
Hast thou not torn the Naiad from her flood,
The Elfin from the green grass, and from me
The summer dream beneath the tamarind tree?
  • albeit – although
  • Diana – the Greek goddess of the hunt, also known as Artemis
  • Hamadryad – a wood-nymph
  • Naiad – a fresh-water nymph in Greek mythology
  • tamarind – a tropical tree that bears fruit