University of Virginia Library


88

IMPROMPTU.

TO MARY.
The gay morn of life, my dear Mary, may smile,
Its fancies enchant us, its flatt'ries beguile,
Yet often the deep rolling vapors ascend,
Hope's sunshine is darkened, gay visions will end,
While sorrows and shadows our prospects o'ercast,
With fears for the future, regrets for the past—
Oh! then, while we languish, oppress'd with our grief,
What art can restore us, what aid bring relief?
Let Prudence, and Patience, and Piety join,
They'll form a specific both sure and divine—
Those evils which Prudence could never foresee,
With Patience endure them—the lighter they'll be—
And Piety, when this vain tumult shall cease,
Will fit us for heaven, and fix us in bliss.