 | Areytos or songs and ballads of the South |  |
284
STANZAS.—'TWAS MEANT FOR THEE.
I.
'Twas meant for thee, when all look'd dark,And every friend my childhood knew
Shrunk from my slight and vent'rous bark,
As fearless o'er the waves it flew;
Unshaken still to keep thy faith,
And through each gloomy storm that came,
To shield me, in thy pray'rs, from scaith,
To keep me, in thy speech, from blame.
II.
When narrow fears beset the base,And selfish hopes o'ercame the mean,
Thy love alone, with gentle face,
Look'd still unchanged through all the scene;
And, with the darkness of the hour,
Thy truth but more conspicuous shone,
As some sweet star, when clouds have power,
Looks proudly out from heaven, alone!
III.
Shall I not love thee, evermore,Thou more than planet-guide to me,
Whose gentle light, on sea and shore,
Still spoke thy true heart's constancy?
Oh! be Time's changes what they will,
They can not change that sleepless thought,
That tells, that teaches of thee, still,
By thee, for evermore, still taught.
| Areytos or songs and ballads of the South | |