University of Virginia Library

TO A CHILD.

Fairest of Earth's creatures!
All thy innocent features
Moulded in beauty do become thee well.
Oh! may thy future years
Be free from pains, and fears,
False love, and others envy, and the guile
That lurks beneath a friendlike smile,
And all the various ills that dwell
In this so strange compounded world; and may
Thy look be like the skies of May,
Supremely soft and clear,
With, now and then, a tear
For joy, or others sorrows, not thy own.
And may thy sweet voice
Like a stream afar
Flow in perpetual music, and its tone
Be joyful and bid all who hear rejoice.
And may thy bright eye, like a star,
Shine sweet and cheer the hearts that love thee,
And take in all the beauty of the flowers,
Deep woods, and running brooks, and the rich sights
Which thou may'st note above thee
At noontide, or on interlunar nights,
Or when blue Iris, after showers,
Bends her cerulean bow, and seems to rest
On some distant mountain's breast,
Surpassing all the shapes that lie
Haunting the sun-set of an autumn sky.