Poems on Various Subjects By John Thelwall. In Two Volumes |
 |
 | 1. |
| II. |
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| I. | SCENE I. |
| II. |
| III. |
|
|
 | Poems on Various Subjects |  |
SCENE I.
Roldan; Edmund; Chorus.Edmund.
How long in expectation must we pine?
How long upon our eager hearts must Doubt
And keen Suspense with baneful influence prey?
How long upon our eager hearts must Doubt
And keen Suspense with baneful influence prey?
Ye light-wing'd messengers of Heav'n! descend:
Let me no longer on the rack of Doubt
Be stretch'd impatient; but to instant Joy
Exalt at once, or headlong to Despair
Precipitate me down.
Let me no longer on the rack of Doubt
Be stretch'd impatient; but to instant Joy
Exalt at once, or headlong to Despair
Precipitate me down.
Chorus.
Impatient youth!
Curb the wild passions of thy headstrong mind,
And humbly wait th'Omnipotent decree.
Curb the wild passions of thy headstrong mind,
And humbly wait th'Omnipotent decree.
Behold, my son, where down yon broken steep,
(With many an aged beech, and sapless elm,
Romantic, interspers'd) the foaming stream
Tumultuous rolls its way; and, as it rolls,
Breaks ever and anon the stony earth
With its impatient wave, and sweeps away
Its verdant boundaries, and its bed deforms.
Such is, within the human breast, the stream
Of Petulance, which, scorning all restraint,
Impairs the bounds of Reason, and deforms
The heart it flows thro' with unruly force.
(With many an aged beech, and sapless elm,
Romantic, interspers'd) the foaming stream
Tumultuous rolls its way; and, as it rolls,
72
With its impatient wave, and sweeps away
Its verdant boundaries, and its bed deforms.
Such is, within the human breast, the stream
Of Petulance, which, scorning all restraint,
Impairs the bounds of Reason, and deforms
The heart it flows thro' with unruly force.
Edmund.
Hark! hear'st thou not some busy noise within?
'Tis so. The door uncloses. Oh my heart!
With what a strong convulsion does each throb
Against my breast resound! What news? what news?
Hope glances from thy eye.
| Poems on Various Subjects | |