 | Poems by Mrs. Opie |  |
47
TO THE GLOW-WORM.
Gem of this lone and silent vale,
Treasure of evening's pensive hour!
I come thy fairy rays to hail,
I come a votive strain to pour.
Treasure of evening's pensive hour!
I come thy fairy rays to hail,
I come a votive strain to pour.
Nor chilly damps, nor paths untrod,
Shall from thy shrine my footsteps fright;
Thy lamp shall guide me o'er the sod,
And cheer the gathering mists of night.
Shall from thy shrine my footsteps fright;
Thy lamp shall guide me o'er the sod,
And cheer the gathering mists of night.
48
Again thy yellow fire impart;....
Lo! planets shed a mimic day:
Lo! vivid meteors round me dart;
On western clouds red lightnings play!
Lo! planets shed a mimic day:
Lo! vivid meteors round me dart;
On western clouds red lightnings play!
But I disdain these garish fires
Sporting on evening's sultry wing;
Thy humbler light my eye admires,
Thy soft retiring charms I sing.
Sporting on evening's sultry wing;
Thy humbler light my eye admires,
Thy soft retiring charms I sing.
Thine is an unobtrusive blaze,
Content in lowly shades to shine;
And much I wish, while thus I gaze,
To make thy modest merit mine.
Content in lowly shades to shine;
And much I wish, while thus I gaze,
To make thy modest merit mine.
49
For, long by youth's wild wishes cast
On the false world's tempestuous sea,
I seek retirement's shore at last,
And find a monitor in thee.
On the false world's tempestuous sea,
I seek retirement's shore at last,
And find a monitor in thee.
| Poems by Mrs. Opie | |