Poems and Letters

I asked no other thing -
No other - was denied -
I offered Being - for it -
The Mighty Merchant sneered -

Brazil? He twirled a Button -
Without a glance my way -
"But - Madam - is there nothing else -
That We can show - Today?"

NOTES

This poem was written in 1862. As exotic locations frequently did during this period, Brazil represents Heaven, or something desired and dreamt of, yet beyond reach and denied.

In Johnson, Complete Poems, this poem is #621.