 | Poems |  |
20
ODE TO A YOUNG LADY.
Maria bright with beauty's glow,
In conscious gaity you go
The pride of all the Park:
Attracted groupes in silence gaze,
And soft behind you hear the praise
And whisper of the spark.
In conscious gaity you go
The pride of all the Park:
Attracted groupes in silence gaze,
And soft behind you hear the praise
And whisper of the spark.
In Fancy's airy chariot whirl'd,
You make the circle of the world,
And dance a dizzy round;
The maids and kindling youths behold
You triumph o'er the envious Old,
The Queen of Beauty crown'd.
You make the circle of the world,
And dance a dizzy round;
The maids and kindling youths behold
You triumph o'er the envious Old,
The Queen of Beauty crown'd.
Where'er the beams of Fortune blaze,
Or Fashion's whispering zephyr plays,
The insect tribe attends;
Gay-glittering thro' a Summer's day,
The silken myriads melt away
Before a Sun descends.
Or Fashion's whispering zephyr plays,
The insect tribe attends;
Gay-glittering thro' a Summer's day,
The silken myriads melt away
Before a Sun descends.
Divorced from elegant delight,
The vulgar Venus holds her night
An alien to the skies;
Her bosom breathes no finer fire,
No radiance of divine desire
Illumes responsive eyes.
The vulgar Venus holds her night
An alien to the skies;
Her bosom breathes no finer fire,
No radiance of divine desire
Illumes responsive eyes.
Gods! shall a sordid son of earth
Enfold a form of heavenly birth,
And ravish joys divine?
An Angel bless unconscious arms?
The circle of surrendered charms
Unhallowed hands entwine?
Enfold a form of heavenly birth,
And ravish joys divine?
21
The circle of surrendered charms
Unhallowed hands entwine?
The absent day; the broken dream;
The vision wild; the sudden scream;
Tears that unbidden flow!—
Ah! let no sense of griefs profound
That beauteous bosom ever wound
With unavailing woe!
The vision wild; the sudden scream;
Tears that unbidden flow!—
Ah! let no sense of griefs profound
That beauteous bosom ever wound
With unavailing woe!
The wild enchanter Youth beguiles,
And Fancy's fairy landscape smiles
With more than Nature's bloom;
The spring of Eden paints your bowers,
Unsetting suns your promised hours
With golden light illume.
And Fancy's fairy landscape smiles
With more than Nature's bloom;
The spring of Eden paints your bowers,
Unsetting suns your promised hours
With golden light illume.
A hand-advancing strikes the bell!
That sound dissolves the magic spell,
And all the charm is gone!
The visionary landscape flies:
At once th' aëriel music dies;
In wild you walk alone!
That sound dissolves the magic spell,
And all the charm is gone!
The visionary landscape flies:
At once th' aëriel music dies;
In wild you walk alone!
Howe'er the wind of Fortune blows,
Or sadly-severing Fate dispose
Our everlasting doom;
Impressions never felt before,
And transports to return no more,
Will haunt me to the tomb!
Or sadly-severing Fate dispose
Our everlasting doom;
Impressions never felt before,
And transports to return no more,
Will haunt me to the tomb!
My God! the pangs of nature past,
Will e'er a kind remembrance last
Of pleasures sadly sweet?
Can Love assume a calmer name?
My eyes with Friendship's angel-flame
An Angel's beauty meet?
Will e'er a kind remembrance last
Of pleasures sadly sweet?
Can Love assume a calmer name?
My eyes with Friendship's angel-flame
An Angel's beauty meet?
22
Ah! should that first of finer forms
Require, thro' life's impending storms,
A sympathy of soul;
The loved Maria of the mind
Will send me, on the wings of wind,
To Indus or the Pole.
Require, thro' life's impending storms,
A sympathy of soul;
The loved Maria of the mind
Will send me, on the wings of wind,
To Indus or the Pole.
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