 | The Poetical Works of Laman Blanchard |  |
142
XIX
THE STATE OF MAN.
Oh! who can look upon that lofty mind
O'ercome by taunt and tears; observe the vow
Of princes unfulfilled, and the slow plough
Crushing the peasant's hopes; the weak resigned
To wrongs, the crafty trampling on the kind;
The laurel wreathed upon a branded brow,
Hiding, not honouring; the olive bough
Faded, and cast upon the common wind—
And earth a doveless Ark. Oh! who can see
How weak the wise, how fallen are the free;
How Thirst sits pining by the plenteous main,
While Virtue finds her garlands but a chain,
Nor deem the golden hour is still to be,
When Life shall look to heaven exempt from pride and pain.
| The Poetical Works of Laman Blanchard | |