 | Poems descriptive, dramatic, legendary and contemplative |  |
[II. Even as the boy whom the stern prophet sire]
Even as the boy whom the stern prophet sireDevotes, in some deep forest, with a vow—
So, with no thought of mine, and no desire,
Was I constrain'd to seek and sworn to bow
At altars, whose strange gods did never tire
Of service, but commanded night and day!
I knew no sports of comrades,—when in play
My young companions shouted, I was sad;
Fill'd with strange yearnings,—summon'd still away
To that lone worship—watchful, yet not glad!
Shall it be deem'd a voluntary mood
That leads the boy from boyhood,—sports he loves,—
The merry games of comrades,—still to brood,
While others laugh, in melancholy groves?
| Poems descriptive, dramatic, legendary and contemplative | |