 | Poetical essays on Several Occasions |  |
76
TO A Friend in Wales:
Writ in the Spring.
The spacious Theatre we here survey,
Above so splendid, and below so gay;
The Sky's fair Tap'stry hung with Lamps of Light
Which twinkle thro' the Horrors of the Night;
The painted Earth array'd in Mantle green,
With lofty Woods, and limpid Streams between;
All the fair Show and Order of the Frame,
Immortal Skill and Art divine proclaim.
What less cou'd steer the Orbs their pathless Way,
And o'er each Planet spread a Flood of Day;
Bid the Sun travel in an oblique Line,
And with alternate Influence learn to shine;
Cou'd tune th'harmonious Music of the Spheres
Which only sounds to philosophic Ears;
Bid the bleak Winter freeze, fierce Cancer burn,
And all thy Bloom, O! charming Spring return?
Above so splendid, and below so gay;
The Sky's fair Tap'stry hung with Lamps of Light
Which twinkle thro' the Horrors of the Night;
The painted Earth array'd in Mantle green,
With lofty Woods, and limpid Streams between;
All the fair Show and Order of the Frame,
Immortal Skill and Art divine proclaim.
What less cou'd steer the Orbs their pathless Way,
And o'er each Planet spread a Flood of Day;
77
And with alternate Influence learn to shine;
Cou'd tune th'harmonious Music of the Spheres
Which only sounds to philosophic Ears;
Bid the bleak Winter freeze, fierce Cancer burn,
And all thy Bloom, O! charming Spring return?
Inspir'd by Thee the slumbring Insects wake,
And animated Birds their Silence break;
In Notes of Harmony salute the Year,
And all Creation with their Music cheer.
No more tempestuous Winds the Forest rend,
Nor clatt'ring Hail-storms tho' the Air descend.
In every Gale sweet Smells, and sweeter Sounds
With Blasts alternate keep delightful Rounds.
See how the sleeping Plants forsake the Tomb,
Smile on the Sight, and beautifully bloom.
See the green Herbage on your Mountains grow,
And Streams descending from your Hills of Snow.
And animated Birds their Silence break;
In Notes of Harmony salute the Year,
And all Creation with their Music cheer.
No more tempestuous Winds the Forest rend,
Nor clatt'ring Hail-storms tho' the Air descend.
In every Gale sweet Smells, and sweeter Sounds
With Blasts alternate keep delightful Rounds.
See how the sleeping Plants forsake the Tomb,
Smile on the Sight, and beautifully bloom.
See the green Herbage on your Mountains grow,
And Streams descending from your Hills of Snow.
78
And can you pensive sit, be frozen still
Like Scythian Seas, or like an Alpine Hill?
Can you sit mute amidst the tuneful Throng,
Nor join in Nature's universal Song?
While Birds, Plants, Beasts in Symphony conspire,
Awake your Consort, and compleat the Choir.
Like Scythian Seas, or like an Alpine Hill?
Can you sit mute amidst the tuneful Throng,
Nor join in Nature's universal Song?
While Birds, Plants, Beasts in Symphony conspire,
Awake your Consort, and compleat the Choir.
| Poetical essays on Several Occasions | |