As the moths around a taper, As the bees around a rose, As the gnats around a vapour, So the spirits group and close Round about a holy childhood, as if drinking its repose.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1853). “Poems”, p.151
![As the moths around a taper, As the bees around a rose, As the gnats around a vapour, So the spirits group and close Round about a holy childhood, as if drinking its repose.](http://cdn.quoteddaily.com/images/elizabeth-barrett-browning/as-the-moths-around-a-taperas-the-bees-around-a-roseas-the-gnats-around-a-vapourso-the-spirits-group-and.jpg)