Poems on different occasions [by Cuthbert Shaw] |
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| [I]. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. | ODE X.
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| XI. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
 | Poems on different occasions |  |
83
ODE X.
[Fair Delia quits our winding dales]
Fair Delia quits our winding dales,
Where late a shepherdess she stray'd,
Her steps are in the distant vales,
In vain has spring our groves array'd.
Where late a shepherdess she stray'd,
Her steps are in the distant vales,
In vain has spring our groves array'd.
Why should I then in shepherd's weed
Delight the shepherd's part to play;
To call soft music from the reed,
To bind my crook with flowers of May?
Delight the shepherd's part to play;
To call soft music from the reed,
To bind my crook with flowers of May?
Thou stream, whose waters sliding fast,
Hasten from this forsaken ground;
With careless hand to thee I cast
My reed, my crook with garlands bound.
Hasten from this forsaken ground;
With careless hand to thee I cast
My reed, my crook with garlands bound.
84
Perhaps as thro' the forests green,
Perhaps as thro' the meads below,
By other nymphs and shepherds seen
Thy limpid waters chance to flow,
Perhaps as thro' the meads below,
By other nymphs and shepherds seen
Thy limpid waters chance to flow,
In some sequester'd lawn or grove,
Where earliest flowers their sweets unfold,
Where woodbine round the trees is wove,
Thy flood the virgin may behold.
Where earliest flowers their sweets unfold,
Where woodbine round the trees is wove,
Thy flood the virgin may behold.
O, if beside that grove or lawn,
Where she at noon her soft limbs lays,
Or where she crops the flowers at dawn;
O, if thy murmuring water strays,
Where she at noon her soft limbs lays,
Or where she crops the flowers at dawn;
O, if thy murmuring water strays,
Waft to her sight, thou stream, the crook,
And to her sight the reed display;
And if on these the nymph shall look,
Thus let thy Naïad to her say:
And to her sight the reed display;
And if on these the nymph shall look,
Thus let thy Naïad to her say:
85
“Lo to thy eye, O nymph, I bring
These, once thy faithful shepherds store,
His crook bedeck'd with flowers of spring,
His reed that charm'd my verdant shore.
These, once thy faithful shepherds store,
His crook bedeck'd with flowers of spring,
His reed that charm'd my verdant shore.
For thee the shepherd youth was vain
To hold these gifts the swains among;
The crook to guide thy fleecy train,
The reed to sooth thee with soft song.
To hold these gifts the swains among;
The crook to guide thy fleecy train,
The reed to sooth thee with soft song.
By thee forsaken, to the wave,
These once his pride he threw forlorn;
Lo! in this stream, far from his cave,
The crook, the slender reed are born.
These once his pride he threw forlorn;
Lo! in this stream, far from his cave,
The crook, the slender reed are born.
O wouldst thou to thy shepherd's hand
These gifts, his simple wealth, restore;
His crook array'd with flowery band,
His reed resounding on the shore.
These gifts, his simple wealth, restore;
His crook array'd with flowery band,
His reed resounding on the shore.
86
Stay not to snatch the slender reed
From the clear stream with vain delay;
Permit the waters in their speed
To bear the polish'd crook away.
From the clear stream with vain delay;
Permit the waters in their speed
To bear the polish'd crook away.
But quit, O quit these distant shores,
And hasten to the well-known cave,
Where thy fond swain thy loss deplores,
O haste, the faithful swain to save.
And hasten to the well-known cave,
Where thy fond swain thy loss deplores,
O haste, the faithful swain to save.
So shall he, nymph, when thou art found,
Soon find the shepherd's crook again;
So shall his reed again resound,
And with its wild notes charm the plain.”
Soon find the shepherd's crook again;
So shall his reed again resound,
And with its wild notes charm the plain.”
| Poems on different occasions | |