Poems of Freneau | ||
ALCINA'S ENCHANTED ISLAND.
IN these fair fields unfading flowers abound,
Here purple roses cloathe the enchanted ground;
Here, to the sun expand the lillies pale
Fann'd by the sweet breath of the western gale:
Here purple roses cloathe the enchanted ground;
Here, to the sun expand the lillies pale
Fann'd by the sweet breath of the western gale:
Here, fearless hares through dark recesses stray,
And troops of leverets take the woodland way,
Here stately stags, with branching horns, appear,
And rove unsought for, unassail'd by fear:
And troops of leverets take the woodland way,
362
And rove unsought for, unassail'd by fear:
Unknown the snare, the huntsman's fatal dart
That wings the death of torture to the heart,
In social bands they trace the sylvan reign,
Chew the rich cud, or graze along the plain.
That wings the death of torture to the heart,
In social bands they trace the sylvan reign,
Chew the rich cud, or graze along the plain.
In these gay shades the nimble deer delight,
While herds of goats ascend the rocky height,
Browse on the shrubs that shade the vale below,
And crop the plants, that there profusely grow.
While herds of goats ascend the rocky height,
Browse on the shrubs that shade the vale below,
And crop the plants, that there profusely grow.
1788
Poems of Freneau | ||