Madmoments: or First Verseattempts By a Bornnatural. Addressed to the Lightheaded of Society at Large, by Henry Ellison |
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OLDAGE. |
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 | Madmoments: or First Verseattempts |  |
OLDAGE.
1
Oh bitter Age, that leaves us all aloneOn this cold, selfish Earth, e'en as it were
A blighted Tree, while round us young and fair
Are putting forth their Leaves of Joy, o'ergrown
With springtide verdure, in strange contrast shown
With our most sapless boughs: alas! stern care
Grows doubly 'neath the snows of age: 'tis there
He lays his icy Hand on us, and one
By one, the Heart its Joys aside must lay,
Too old to make new Ties: oh let me be
Snatched from this Earth, ere yet the last faint Ray
Of bliss be fled—let me not live to see
The graves of those I love, but pass away
Ripe yet not old, as seasoned fruits drop from the Tree!
2
Oh who would ask the barren boon Years?That Chrse which selfish souls alone can bear;
When the Heart shut within itself, of Air,
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Save for its own base being feels. Time sears
The noblest spirits most, for these must share
Their Hearts with other Hearts, to live: 'tis there
His gifts are desolation; each Year wears
The Temper of the Soul, and dulls the keen
Edge of enjoyment. true Hearts ne'er survive
The Hearts they love, but like Roseleaves, I ween,
When one has dropt, the rest halfwithered live
But for a Moment and then fall unseen.
Is it to live, when Life's no honey in the Hive?
| Madmoments: or First Verseattempts | |