 | Poems by William Stanley Roscoe |  |
103
SONNET.
[As one that slumbering on a desart shore]
As one that slumbering on a desart shore,Lull'd by the music of the murmuring deep,
Bursts suddenly the dreamy bands of sleep,
And sees the raging tide and waters hoar
Whelming the mainland in their giddy roar;
Aghast he stands, and eyes the distant steep,
While ruthless worlds of waters o'er him weep,
And the green face of earth appears no more.
—So, from this dream of life, my startled soul,
Nurs'd on the treacherous lap of youthful prime,
Awakes, and sees upon these shoals of Time
The waves of Fate in billowy surges roll,
And turns for safety to that heavenly throne,
Where mercy dwells, and mortal hearts are known.
| Poems by William Stanley Roscoe | |