 | The Unpublished and Uncollected Poems of William Cowper |  |
28
Heu! Quam Remotus.
29
Far from my natal roof I sigh,
Of all its joys, alas! bereft,
Since long ago, so thoughtlessly,
Sweet fields and home and friends I left;
Of all its joys, alas! bereft,
Since long ago, so thoughtlessly,
Sweet fields and home and friends I left;
And thee forsook, for whom mine eyes
Weep sore, more loved than limb or life,
And linked to me by closest ties,
A victim trembling 'neath the knife.
Weep sore, more loved than limb or life,
And linked to me by closest ties,
A victim trembling 'neath the knife.
Yet no fierce monster was I born,
No lioness e'er nourished me,
In some rude cave o'erhung with thorn;
No!—this is Destiny's decree.
No lioness e'er nourished me,
In some rude cave o'erhung with thorn;
No!—this is Destiny's decree.
30
My soul by countless terrors riven,
And like the stormy ocean tossed,
Into Avernus' jaws was driven,
In its black stream for ever lost.
And like the stormy ocean tossed,
Into Avernus' jaws was driven,
In its black stream for ever lost.
| The Unpublished and Uncollected Poems of William Cowper | |