 | Judith, Esther, and other poems |  |
STANZAS.
Oh! would I were as firm and cold
As rock that guards some barren isle,
And ever bears an aspect bold,
Unmoved though heaven frown or smile.
As rock that guards some barren isle,
And ever bears an aspect bold,
Unmoved though heaven frown or smile.
Heeding alike the dashing wave
That rages 'gainst its beaten breast,
And the soft sea-bird in its cave
By parent bosom gently prest.
That rages 'gainst its beaten breast,
And the soft sea-bird in its cave
By parent bosom gently prest.
But such a rock's frail weed, all white
With the wild ocean-spray would be,
When wandering day-beams lend it light,
A meeter simile for me.
With the wild ocean-spray would be,
When wandering day-beams lend it light,
A meeter simile for me.
When smiles bedeck the face of heaven
It sparkles back a kindred ray—
But, come one angry blast, 'tis driven
And all its lustre dashed away.
It sparkles back a kindred ray—
64
And all its lustre dashed away.
Oh! never was I doomed to know
Thine influence, sweet tranquillity,
But to endure whole months of woe
For every throb of ecstacy.
Thine influence, sweet tranquillity,
But to endure whole months of woe
For every throb of ecstacy.
Would I could meet thee, marble death—
Feel undismayed thy cold embrace,
In thy dark bed resign my breath,
For such the only resting place.
Feel undismayed thy cold embrace,
In thy dark bed resign my breath,
For such the only resting place.
| Judith, Esther, and other poems | |