 | Odes |  |
15
ODE IV.
[“And art thou come, ere Zephyr mild]
I
“And art thou come, ere Zephyr mild“Has wak'd the blackbird's vernal strain?
“Alas! thou com'st, my beauteous child,
“Where Poverty her iron reign
“Extends, more bleak and cruel far
“Than winter, or the northern star:
“Yet cease those cries, that all my pity move;
“Tho' cold the hearth, my bosom burns with love.
II
“Soon will the icy brooks renew“Their liquid sport, and, murm'ring, flow;
“Pale primroses and violets blue
“Beneath yon spangled hawthorns blow;
“And soon, perchance, the mighty Queen,
“Who governs this terrestrial scene,
“Will bend, propitious, to my plaintive lyre,
“And bless with patronage thy hapless fire.”
16
III
While thus an hesitating tearGlitter'd with hope and lively thought,
The Goddess with the wheel drew near,
And, laughing, gave the boon I sought:
O fatal boon indeed! Farewell
The rural comforts, not the cell;
The sweets of Liberty, that never cloy;
Bright Hope, domestic Peace, and friendly Joy!
IV
Once more, dread Deity! beholdMy incense on thy altar laid;
Not for promotion, fame, or gold,
I now invoke thy pow'rful aid:
Ah! give me back the honest frown,
The eye, the accent, all my own;
My dear, my long-lost liberty restore;
Ah! give me back myself; I ask no more.
| Odes | |