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 | The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere |  |
XXI. MODERN DESPONDENCY.
Soft land, and gracious as some nectarous fruitIn whose warm bosom Autumn's heart is glad,
Thou hadst of old thy bards, whose lyre and lute
Well praised thy joyous woodlands blossom-clad:
Thou hadst thy blithesome days! If ours be sad,
May thy blue bays and orchards never mute
That sadness charm—slay causeless sorrow's root—
Loveless self-will, the pride that maketh mad!
Wed, blameless nature, wed with grace divine
Once more, like sweet harps blent with sweeter voices,
Thy powers: then sing, till child and man rejoices
Betwixt those ‘Double Seas’ of England! Shine,
Sun of past years! Disperse those modern glooms
At least from golden Devon's Tors and Coombes!
| The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere | |