Fata Morgana

by Christina Georgina Rossetti — a poem card from Justes Mots

A pursuit of an ever-elusive phantom beauty, expressing exhaustion and yearning for rest and an end to futile searching. The 'Fata Morgana' (mirage) becomes a metaphor for unattainable desires and weariness with longing. This reflective poem addresses the pain of perpetual yearning and the desire for peaceful surrender.

A blue-eyed phantom far before
Is laughing, leaping toward the sun:
Like lead I chase it evermore,
I pant and run.

It breaks the sunlight bound on bound:
Goes singing as it leaps along
To sheep-bells with a dreamy sound…

Themes: sympathy · grief · reflection · long-distance