Poems By the Rev. James Hurdis ... In Three Volumes |
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| XI. | XI. ADDRESS TO HAPPINESS. |
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XI. ADDRESS TO HAPPINESS.
O happiness, thou puny short-liv'd plant,Whose tender branch this world's inclement sky
But ill endures, and bears abundant bloom
In the pacific clime of Heaven alone,
Let me thy transient beauty strive to rear,
Not without hope, uncertain as thou art,
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I'll give thee shelter from all winds that blow,
Diffuse eternal summer round thy head,
And satisfy thy root with gentle drops,
Warm as the dew the tender mother sheds
Upon her drooping child. And in return
Do thou, sweet stranger, to my longing eye
At least one blossom leisurely unfold,
To be transported, when occasion smiles,
Into the bosom of the maid I love.
There to abide, perchance, shall please thee well,
For 'tis a mansion like thy native seat,
The fair abode of innocence and truth.
Be it thy home, and satisfy mankind
That happiness can flourish here below,
And is not always like the cereus' bloom,
Alive at night, and wither'd ere the morn.
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