Who Knows How Beauty Springs

Who knows how beauty springs Out of the world of things, To take the eyes with sudden flame And vanish whence it came, High above things that vex, Fear, covetousness, spite and sex ? Lost in the busy day, In thoughts that harry and press, I knew a young girl passed And heard her swinging dress ; And when I turned I saw, Raised on a stair, Only her ankle, finely poised Against the coloured air. Who that has known can tell How in this world of things, Suddenly in the dark day, Eternal beauty springs ?