 | Poems by William Kendall |  |
21
IX. To FORTUNE.
Resistless anguish fires my thought
With energy to madness wrought—
Burst wildly forth, ye songs of woe,
Ye lyric streams, tumultuous flow!
With energy to madness wrought—
Burst wildly forth, ye songs of woe,
Ye lyric streams, tumultuous flow!
Spirit! to whom the frantic cries
Of fate's desponding victims rise,
Where discord wakes her thrilling strain,
Where shrieks of war affright the plain;
Where clashing arms terrific shine—
To drench the field in blood be thine!
From scenes like these, avenger, say
What lures thy wandering steps away?
Dispel not thus the sacred charm
That soothed my slumbering soul's alarm,
Nor chase the vision of relief,
Nor whelm a wretch in tenfold grief!
Of fate's desponding victims rise,
Where discord wakes her thrilling strain,
Where shrieks of war affright the plain;
Where clashing arms terrific shine—
To drench the field in blood be thine!
From scenes like these, avenger, say
What lures thy wandering steps away?
Dispel not thus the sacred charm
That soothed my slumbering soul's alarm,
Nor chase the vision of relief,
Nor whelm a wretch in tenfold grief!
22
Thro' life's relentless tempest tost,
Methought each sense of pain was lost:
Oblivious peace my sighs suppress'd,
And bade my fluttering pulses rest.
But rudely torn from languor's shrine,
O'erwhelm'd with grief, again I pine.
Peace wings afar her trackless flight—
New terrors rise: new fears affright!
Methought each sense of pain was lost:
Oblivious peace my sighs suppress'd,
And bade my fluttering pulses rest.
But rudely torn from languor's shrine,
O'erwhelm'd with grief, again I pine.
Peace wings afar her trackless flight—
New terrors rise: new fears affright!
“Sunk in eternal slumber, lies
The maid that erst awoke thy sighs:
Nor weeping love's unspotted truth,
Nor all the fervid prayers of youth,
Nor virtue's warmest wish could save
The bloom of beauty from the grave.”
The maid that erst awoke thy sighs:
Nor weeping love's unspotted truth,
Nor all the fervid prayers of youth,
Nor virtue's warmest wish could save
The bloom of beauty from the grave.”
My big heart beats: my glowing veins
Vibrate with more than mortal pains:
My shivering limbs, my visage pale,
Too well affirm the mournful tale.
Vibrate with more than mortal pains:
My shivering limbs, my visage pale,
Too well affirm the mournful tale.
Tormenter! cease that sickly smile!
Can airy phantoms now beguile?
To crown ambition's brow, display
The victor's palm, the poet's bay—
No blooming wreath my songs require,
No ray demand of heavenly fire.
For tearless eyes thy charms unfold,
Thy glittering piles of guilty gold;
Me wealth nor fame nor power can please—
All, all I ask is languid ease,
Lethargic hours from passion free,
Not joy but listless apathy!
Can airy phantoms now beguile?
23
The victor's palm, the poet's bay—
No blooming wreath my songs require,
No ray demand of heavenly fire.
For tearless eyes thy charms unfold,
Thy glittering piles of guilty gold;
Me wealth nor fame nor power can please—
All, all I ask is languid ease,
Lethargic hours from passion free,
Not joy but listless apathy!
E'er fate this humble boon denies,
To thee I raise my streaming eyes!
Shall life consum'd by slow decay
In lingering torment waste away?
Rouse all thy fury! swiftly shed
Heaven's fiercest horrors o'er my head!
Rend the frail texture of my frame,
With withering heat my blood inflame!
Let death approach with hurried pace
And clasp me in his cold embrace!
To thee I raise my streaming eyes!
Shall life consum'd by slow decay
In lingering torment waste away?
Rouse all thy fury! swiftly shed
Heaven's fiercest horrors o'er my head!
Rend the frail texture of my frame,
With withering heat my blood inflame!
Let death approach with hurried pace
And clasp me in his cold embrace!
| Poems by William Kendall | |