Verses on several subjects (1802) | ||
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TWO SONNETS, WRITTEN AT CLIEFDEN SPRING.
SONNET I.
[Majestic Thames, whose ample current flows]
Majestic Thames, whose ample current flows,The wood reflecting in its silver tide,
Which, hanging from the hills that grace thy side,
O'er this clear fount its massy foliage throws;
Here on thy brink my limbs again repose:
Yet though thy waves Augusta's towers divide,
Or by the foot of princely Windsor glide;
Still with more heartfelt joy my bosom glows,
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Where first I woo'd the witching powers of song,
As wrapt in fancy's sweet delusive dream,
I desultory rov'd her banks along,
Nor ask'd a brighter wreath to grace my theme,
Than humbly grew her willowy shades among.
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SONNET II.
[Here from the rifted rock, where boldly rise]
Here from the rifted rock, where boldly riseThe ilex shining with perennial green,
The gloomy pine, the beech's vivid skreen,
Hoar oaks that throw their branches to the skies;
While 'mid the boles the zephyr gently sighs,
And woodbines sweet, and lychen, creep between,
Amid the stillness of the sylvan scene,
Tranquil the silver-bosom'd Naiad lies;
While from her urn the rills redundant glide,
Where his broad flood majestic Thames displays.
Nor thou with haughty look, Imperial Tide,
Upon the clear though scanty tribute gaze;
Ne'er will the powers of Heaven itself deride
The humblest gift the unsullied bosom pays.
Verses on several subjects (1802) | ||