 | Poems descriptive, dramatic, legendary and contemplative |  |
[II. Yet bitter were the lessons of that past]
Yet bitter were the lessons of that past,When life was one long winter! Childhood knew
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The glory of green leaves about mine eye;
No zephyr, laden with sweet perfumes, blew
For me its Eastern tribute from a sky
Looking down love upon me; and my mood
Yearn'd for its kindred—for the humblest tie
To human hopes and aspirations true!
Sickness, and suffering, and solitude
Couch'd o'er my cradle: cheerless was the glance
That watch'd my slumbers in those feeble hours
When pity, with her tears, her only powers,
Might have brought hope, if not deliverance.
| Poems descriptive, dramatic, legendary and contemplative | |