 | Miscellanies (1785) |  |
Not then from fancy only, from the heart,
Pours the keen anguish on th' immortal part,
And Truth herself destroys the bloom of May,
When Death or Fortune tears a friend away;
From virtuous passion, virtuous feeling, flows
The grief that dims the lily and the rose.
Drops a soft sorrow for a friend in dust?
There, Truth and Fancy both may rear the bust;
While one pours forth the tribute of the heart;
The other plies her visionary art,
Potent she calls her airy spectres round,
And bids them instant consecrate the ground;
Fancy presides as sov'reign of the scene,
And darkens every leaf of every green;
Whilst Reason loves to mix with her's the tear,
And the fair mourners form a league sincere;
Her airy visions Fancy may impart,
And Reason listen to the charmer's art.
Pours the keen anguish on th' immortal part,
And Truth herself destroys the bloom of May,
When Death or Fortune tears a friend away;
From virtuous passion, virtuous feeling, flows
The grief that dims the lily and the rose.
Drops a soft sorrow for a friend in dust?
There, Truth and Fancy both may rear the bust;
28
The other plies her visionary art,
Potent she calls her airy spectres round,
And bids them instant consecrate the ground;
Fancy presides as sov'reign of the scene,
And darkens every leaf of every green;
Whilst Reason loves to mix with her's the tear,
And the fair mourners form a league sincere;
Her airy visions Fancy may impart,
And Reason listen to the charmer's art.
| Miscellanies (1785) | |