Poems by Hartley Coleridge With a Memoir of his Life by his Brother. In Two Volumes |
 | I. |
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TO A POSTHUMOUS INFANT. |
| II. |
 | Poems by Hartley Coleridge |  |
143
TO A POSTHUMOUS INFANT.
Child of woman, and of Heaven,
Ere thy birth, of sire bereaven,
Offspring of a widow'd dove,
Of half thy heritage of love
Defeated, ere thy little breath
Was drawn from atmosphere of death—
Smiler, that shalt ne'er beguile
Father's tear with baby smile,
Never laugh on father's knee,
Knows thy father aught of thee?
Ere thy birth, of sire bereaven,
Offspring of a widow'd dove,
Of half thy heritage of love
Defeated, ere thy little breath
Was drawn from atmosphere of death—
Smiler, that shalt ne'er beguile
Father's tear with baby smile,
Never laugh on father's knee,
Knows thy father aught of thee?
May the spirit of the Blest
Look upon its earthly nest?
Breathe upon thine infant slumbers
The music of angelic numbers,
Glide into the growing soul,
To form, “to kindle, or controul?”
May the sainted parent bless
His own, the new-born fatherless?
Look upon its earthly nest?
Breathe upon thine infant slumbers
The music of angelic numbers,
Glide into the growing soul,
To form, “to kindle, or controul?”
May the sainted parent bless
His own, the new-born fatherless?
| Poems by Hartley Coleridge | |