The poetical works of Robert Stephen Hawker Edited from the original manuscripts and annotated copies together with a prefatory notice and bibliography by Alfred Wallis |
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THE BUTTERFLY. |
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 | The poetical works of Robert Stephen Hawker |  |
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THE BUTTERFLY.
Bird of the moths! that radiant wing
Hath borne thee from thine earthly lair;
Thou revellest on the breath of spring,
A graceful shape of woven air!
Hath borne thee from thine earthly lair;
Thou revellest on the breath of spring,
A graceful shape of woven air!
The glories of the earth are thine,
The joyful breeze, the balmy sky;
For thee the starry roses shine,
And violets in their valleys sigh.
The joyful breeze, the balmy sky;
For thee the starry roses shine,
And violets in their valleys sigh.
Yet was the scene as soft and bright
When thou wert low in wormy rest:
The skies of summer gushed with light,
The blossoms breathed on Nature's breast.
When thou wert low in wormy rest:
The skies of summer gushed with light,
The blossoms breathed on Nature's breast.
But thou that gladness didst not share,
A cave restrained that shadowy form;
In vain did fragrance fill the air,
Dew soften and the sunbeams warm.
A cave restrained that shadowy form;
In vain did fragrance fill the air,
Dew soften and the sunbeams warm.
Dull was thy day—a living death,
Till the great change in glory came,
And thou, a thing of life and breath,
Didst cleave the air with quivering frame!
Till the great change in glory came,
And thou, a thing of life and breath,
Didst cleave the air with quivering frame!
My son! my son! read, mark, and learn
This parable of summer skies,
Until thy trusting spirit yearn,
Like the bright moth, to rush and rise.
This parable of summer skies,
Until thy trusting spirit yearn,
Like the bright moth, to rush and rise.
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Lo! round and near, a mightier scene,
With hues that flesh may not behold!
There all things glow with loveliest mien,
And earthly forms have heavenly mould!
With hues that flesh may not behold!
There all things glow with loveliest mien,
And earthly forms have heavenly mould!
Oh! for that place of paths divine,
By the freed soul in rapture trod;
The upper air, the fields that shine,
For ever in the Light of God!
By the freed soul in rapture trod;
The upper air, the fields that shine,
For ever in the Light of God!
| The poetical works of Robert Stephen Hawker | |