Sculptor, forever shun
Clay moulded there
By the thumb
When the mind's elsewhere;
Wrestle with Carrara,
With Parian marble rare
And hard,
Keep the outline clear;
From Syracuse borrow
Bronze which the proud
Furrow
Has charmingly endowed;
With a hand,
The vein of agate, follow
Command
The profile of Apollo.
Clay moulded there
By the thumb
When the mind's elsewhere;
Wrestle with Carrara,
With Parian marble rare
And hard,
Keep the outline clear;
From Syracuse borrow
Bronze which the proud
Furrow
Has charmingly endowed;
With a hand,
The vein of agate, follow
Command
The profile of Apollo.
19th Century French Poetry