 | Songs and Poems from 1819 to 1879 |  |
50
TO J--- H---, ESQ., ON HIS MARRIAGE.
If ever flow of song be dear
To poet's heart, to poet's ear,
'Tis when its ready numbers lend
Their aid to 'gratulate a friend;
'Tis then the language of the soul
Bursts forth contemning all control,
And rushes into verse as glowing
As the warm fount from whence 'tis flowing.
To poet's heart, to poet's ear,
'Tis when its ready numbers lend
Their aid to 'gratulate a friend;
'Tis then the language of the soul
Bursts forth contemning all control,
And rushes into verse as glowing
As the warm fount from whence 'tis flowing.
Though slender be, alas! my claim
To poet's skill, to poet's fame,
Yet few with warmer heart there be,
And none with dearer friend than thee
Then flow my lay, nor check my zeal,
And let them scoff who cannot feel.
To poet's skill, to poet's fame,
Yet few with warmer heart there be,
And none with dearer friend than thee
Then flow my lay, nor check my zeal,
And let them scoff who cannot feel.
I fain would wish thee every bliss
That man can know in world like this;
But fate to thee hath been so kind,
It scarce hath left a wish behind.
That man can know in world like this;
But fate to thee hath been so kind,
It scarce hath left a wish behind.
51
If greater bliss for him remain
Who loves and is beloved again,
'Tis when he hails in tend'rest tone
That loved and loving one his own;
And such, my friend, thy blessing rare,
And friendship shall thy feelings share,
And I will joy such lot be thine,
Although it never can be mine!
Who loves and is beloved again,
'Tis when he hails in tend'rest tone
That loved and loving one his own;
And such, my friend, thy blessing rare,
And friendship shall thy feelings share,
And I will joy such lot be thine,
Although it never can be mine!
But come—away with thoughts like these,
I will not sully with a sigh
The verse that should be framed to please
And hail a friend's felicity.
I will not sully with a sigh
The verse that should be framed to please
And hail a friend's felicity.
Oh may your life be like the beam
Of morning on a summer stream,
Without a cloud to shade its hours,
Without a blight to scathe its flowers:
May every thought by love be nurst,
And every moment like the first;
And age, when youth hath passed away,
The twilight of a summer-day.
Of morning on a summer stream,
Without a cloud to shade its hours,
Without a blight to scathe its flowers:
May every thought by love be nurst,
And every moment like the first;
And age, when youth hath passed away,
The twilight of a summer-day.
Such is the wish I frame for thee,
And such thy bliss will surely be;
For since love, beauty, sense, and worth,
To thee in one rich prize are given,
Thou canst not sigh for more on earth—
And scarce can hope for more in heaven.
And such thy bliss will surely be;
For since love, beauty, sense, and worth,
To thee in one rich prize are given,
Thou canst not sigh for more on earth—
And scarce can hope for more in heaven.
| Songs and Poems from 1819 to 1879 | |