To a Cold Beauty.

Lady, wouldst thou heiress be

To Winters cold and cruel part?

When he sets the rivers free,

Thou dost still lock up thy heart; —

Thou that shouldst outlast¹ the snow,

But in the whiteness of thy brow?

Scorn and cold neglect are made

For winter gloom and winter wind,

But thou wilt² wrong the summer air,

Breathing it to words unkind —

Breath which only should belong

To love, to sunlight, and to song!

When the little buds unclose.

Red, and white, and pied, and blue,

And that virgin³ flow’r, the rose,

Opes her heart to hold the dew,

Wilt thou lock thy bosom⁴ up

With no jewel in its cup?

Let not cold December sit

Thus in Love’s peculiar⁵ throne:

Brooklets are not prison’d now,

But crystal frosts are all agone,

And that which hangs upon the spray,

It is no snow, but flow’r of May!

1 outlast   

v.较…耐久

参考例句：

• The great use of life is to spend it doing something that will outlast it.人生的充分利用就是为争取比人生更长久的东西而度过一生。
• These naturally dried flowers will outlast a bouquet of fresh blooms.这些自然风干的花会比一束鲜花更加持久。

2 wilt   

v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱

参考例句：

• Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered.金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。
• Several sleepless nights made him wilt.数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。

3 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

4 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

5 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。