Poems descriptive, dramatic, legendary and contemplative | ||
I. TROPHIES.—HOW PLANTED.
The trophies which shine out for eager eyes,In youth's first hour of progress, and delude
With promise dearest to ambition's mood,
Lie not within life's limits; but arise
Beyond the realm of sunset;—phantoms bright,
Glowing above the tomb; having their roots
Even in the worshipper's heart;—from whence their fruits,
And all that thence grows precious to man's sight!
Thence, too, their power to lure from beaten ways
That Love hath set with flowers; and thence the spell,
'Gainst which the blood denied may ne'er rebel,
That leads to sleepless nights and toilsome days,
And sacrifice of all those human joys,
That, to the ambitious nature, seem but toys.
Poems descriptive, dramatic, legendary and contemplative | ||