University of Virginia Library


230

No flow'ry sweets I bring, tho' Summer reigns,
And flocks delighted rove thro' painted plains;
Tho' glitt'ring brooks flow, smooth, meand'ring by,
And larks soar, warbling thro' the azure sky;
And meads and groves rejoice—to me unblest;
For oh! bleak Winter raves within my breast;
Here whirls a storm, tho' hid from human sight,
Fiercer than winds that howl thro' gloomy night.
As griefs reveal'd are robb'd of half their sting,
And seeming doubts, when told, oft take to wing;
Permit me here some mis'ries to unnest,
That long have harbour'd in my labo'ring breast.