 | Dartmoor, and other poems |  |
86
THE AFFECTIONATE HEART.
Let the great man, his treasures possessing,
Pomp and splendour for ever attend;
I prize not the shadowy blessing
I ask—the affectionate friend.
Pomp and splendour for ever attend;
I prize not the shadowy blessing
I ask—the affectionate friend.
Tho' foibles may sometime o'ertake him,
His footstep from wisdom depart;
Yet, my spirit shall never forsake him,
If he own the affectionate heart.
His footstep from wisdom depart;
Yet, my spirit shall never forsake him,
If he own the affectionate heart.
Affection! thou soother of care,
Sweet visitant sent from above;
Thou can'st make e'en the desert look fair,
And thy voice is the voice of the dove.
Sweet visitant sent from above;
Thou can'st make e'en the desert look fair,
And thy voice is the voice of the dove.
'Mid the anguish that preys on the breast,
And the storms of mortality's state;
What shall lull the afflicted to rest,
But the joys that on sympathy wait!
And the storms of mortality's state;
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But the joys that on sympathy wait!
What is fame, bidding envy defiance,
The idol and bane of mankind;
What is wit, what is learning or science,
To the heart that is stedfast and kind?
The idol and bane of mankind;
What is wit, what is learning or science,
To the heart that is stedfast and kind?
Even genius may weary the sight,
By too fierce and too constant a blaze;
But affection, mild planet of night!
Grows lovelier the longer we gaze.
By too fierce and too constant a blaze;
But affection, mild planet of night!
Grows lovelier the longer we gaze.
It shall thrive when the flattering forms
Which encircle creation decay;
It shall live 'mid the wide-wasting storms,
That bear all undistinguish'd away.
Which encircle creation decay;
It shall live 'mid the wide-wasting storms,
That bear all undistinguish'd away.
When Time, at the end of his race,
Shall expire with expiring mankind;
It shall stand on its permanent base;
It shall last till the wreck of the mind.
Shall expire with expiring mankind;
It shall stand on its permanent base;
It shall last till the wreck of the mind.
| Dartmoor, and other poems | |