University of Virginia Library


189

STANZAS.

When stars forsake the sullen sea,
When rains descend and winds arise,
Some rock a sunny bower may be,
If Hope but lend us eyes.
It tracks our steps in every stage,
And wakes a fountain in the wild;
It mingles, with the thoughts of age,
The rapture of a child.
It sheds on Joy a richer glow,
It flings to want its gifts of gold;
But oh! its hand—as pure as snow—
Will sometimes prove as cold!
Yet when the graces fall from youth,
And Passion's fervid cheek grows pale,
Then Hope becomes a thing of truth—
A faith too deep to fail.
1834.