Poems, on sacred and other subjects and songs, humorous and sentimental: By the late William Watt. Third edition of the songs only--with additional songs |
 |
|
|
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| 6. |
| 7. |
| 8. |
| 9. |
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| XVII. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| I. |
| II. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
An Address to Calder Water.
|
|
 | Poems, on sacred and other subjects |  |
An Address to Calder Water.
Hail, stream! by whose romantic side
The care-dispelling muse
First pour'd the rapture-raising tide
Of pleasure so profuse!
To me thy banks are ever gay,
At sober eve or rising day;
Whether the gladsome smile of spring
Excite the tuneful train to sing—
Or summer deck the cooling bowers
With sweetly simple woodland flowers—
Or autumn blight with yellow hue
Thy verdant shades, so fair to view—
Or winter, howling through the air,
Wild, from thy trees the foliage tear:
For still with thee I friendship claim;
A friendship warm—sublime;
Remote from pride, remote from fame,
Where pleasure's harp doth chime!
The care-dispelling muse
First pour'd the rapture-raising tide
Of pleasure so profuse!
To me thy banks are ever gay,
At sober eve or rising day;
Whether the gladsome smile of spring
Excite the tuneful train to sing—
Or summer deck the cooling bowers
With sweetly simple woodland flowers—
Or autumn blight with yellow hue
Thy verdant shades, so fair to view—
Or winter, howling through the air,
Wild, from thy trees the foliage tear:
338
A friendship warm—sublime;
Remote from pride, remote from fame,
Where pleasure's harp doth chime!
Ofttimes, among thy birken shades,
In pensive musing mood,
Or on thy primrose-tinted glades,
I've roam'd in solitude.
While fancy's scenes I stray'd among,
Melodious flow'd the blackbird's song;
And, faintly falling on the ear,
Was heard the linn, of cadence drear;
And Phœbus, beaming on the rocks,
Display'd their loosely-waving locks
Of ivy, brier, birk, and broom,
Of pleasant scent and beauteous bloom,
Where sweetly humm'd the honey-bee,
Unheard, unseen, to all but me,
Who there would pass the moments fleet,
Till, through the waving trees,
At Sol's decline, soft zephyr, sweet,
Would pour the fanning breeze.
In pensive musing mood,
Or on thy primrose-tinted glades,
I've roam'd in solitude.
While fancy's scenes I stray'd among,
Melodious flow'd the blackbird's song;
And, faintly falling on the ear,
Was heard the linn, of cadence drear;
And Phœbus, beaming on the rocks,
Display'd their loosely-waving locks
Of ivy, brier, birk, and broom,
Of pleasant scent and beauteous bloom,
Where sweetly humm'd the honey-bee,
Unheard, unseen, to all but me,
Who there would pass the moments fleet,
Till, through the waving trees,
At Sol's decline, soft zephyr, sweet,
Would pour the fanning breeze.
Soft swelling, 'mong the echoing rocks,
At ruddy, beaming morn,
In pursuit of the robber fox,
The huntsman blows the horn;
While, loud, the clam'rous noise of hounds
Among the woods and rocks resounds.
Sly reynard tries, with every guile,
The murd'rers from his path to wile;
Oft in thy streams, to kill the track,
He treads, to cheat the fatal pack,
Who, yelling, scent; but all in vain;
No tainted air thy fords retain;
While he, far on the upland heath,
By thee rescued, escapes from death:
But, like the felon freed from jail,
With nature unsubdued,
He makes the shepherd sore bewail
His plund'ring deeds renew'd.
At ruddy, beaming morn,
In pursuit of the robber fox,
The huntsman blows the horn;
While, loud, the clam'rous noise of hounds
Among the woods and rocks resounds.
Sly reynard tries, with every guile,
The murd'rers from his path to wile;
Oft in thy streams, to kill the track,
He treads, to cheat the fatal pack,
Who, yelling, scent; but all in vain;
No tainted air thy fords retain;
While he, far on the upland heath,
By thee rescued, escapes from death:
But, like the felon freed from jail,
With nature unsubdued,
He makes the shepherd sore bewail
His plund'ring deeds renew'd.
339
Far dearer themes the muse can spy,
In lovely hues pourtray'd—
The lovers, warm with beaming eye,
Beneath the birken shade;
There, breathing soft the mutual flame,
Devoid of every vicious aim,
While all the mystic charms of feeling
Across their raptured souls are stealing,
And cheerful hope's propitious smile
Down life's long vista beams the while.
Long may such lovely scenes pervade
Thy every meadow, grove, and glade,
From where thou leav'st the bleak muir side
Down to the fertile banks of Clyde.
Hail, Calder! ever dear to me,
As on thy banks I stray,
Still roams the muse, in ecstasy,
On boundless wing, away!
In lovely hues pourtray'd—
The lovers, warm with beaming eye,
Beneath the birken shade;
There, breathing soft the mutual flame,
Devoid of every vicious aim,
While all the mystic charms of feeling
Across their raptured souls are stealing,
And cheerful hope's propitious smile
Down life's long vista beams the while.
Long may such lovely scenes pervade
Thy every meadow, grove, and glade,
From where thou leav'st the bleak muir side
Down to the fertile banks of Clyde.
Hail, Calder! ever dear to me,
As on thy banks I stray,
Still roams the muse, in ecstasy,
On boundless wing, away!
| Poems, on sacred and other subjects | |