 | [Poems by Dwight in] American poems, selected and original |  |
The SEASONS Moralized.
Behold the changes of the skies,
And see the circling seasons rise;
Hence, let the moral truth refin'd,
Improve the beauty of the mind.
And see the circling seasons rise;
Hence, let the moral truth refin'd,
Improve the beauty of the mind.
Winter, late with dreary reign,
Rul'd the wide, unjoyous plain;
Gloomy storms with solemn roar
Shook the hoarse, resounding shore.
Rul'd the wide, unjoyous plain;
Gloomy storms with solemn roar
Shook the hoarse, resounding shore.
Sorrow cast her sadness round,
Life and joy forsook the ground,
Death, with wild imperious sway,
Bade the expiring world decay.
Life and joy forsook the ground,
Death, with wild imperious sway,
Bade the expiring world decay.
Now cast around thy raptur'd eyes,
And see the beauteous spring arise;
See, flow'rs invest the hills again,
And streams re-murmur o'er the plains.
And see the beauteous spring arise;
See, flow'rs invest the hills again,
And streams re-murmur o'er the plains.
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Hark, hark, the joy-inspiring grove
Echoes to the voice of love;
Balmy gales the sound prolong,
Wafting round the woodland song.
Echoes to the voice of love;
Balmy gales the sound prolong,
Wafting round the woodland song.
Such the scenes our life displays,
Swiftly fleet our rapid days;
The hour that rolls forever on,
Tells us our years must soon be gone.
Swiftly fleet our rapid days;
The hour that rolls forever on,
Tells us our years must soon be gone.
Sullen Death, with mournful gloom
Sweeps us downwards to the tomb;
Life, and health, and joy decay,
Nature sinks, and dies away.
Sweeps us downwards to the tomb;
Life, and health, and joy decay,
Nature sinks, and dies away.
But the soul in gayest bloom,
Disdains the bondage of the tomb;
Ascends above the clouds of even,
And, raptur'd, hails her native heaven.
Disdains the bondage of the tomb;
Ascends above the clouds of even,
And, raptur'd, hails her native heaven.
Youth, and peace, and beauty there
Forever dance around the year;
An endless joy invests the pole,
And streams of ceaseless pleasure roll.
Forever dance around the year;
An endless joy invests the pole,
And streams of ceaseless pleasure roll.
Light, and joy, and grace divine
With bright and lasting glory shine:
Jehovah's smiles, with heav'nly ray,
Diffuse a clear, unbounded day.
With bright and lasting glory shine:
Jehovah's smiles, with heav'nly ray,
Diffuse a clear, unbounded day.
| [Poems by Dwight in] American poems, selected and original | |