Conversations introducing poetry chiefly on subjects of natural history. For the use of children and young persons. By Charlotte Smith |
 | I. |
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| II. |
| 6. |
| 7. |
| 8. |
| 9. |
THE CANKERED ROSE. |
 | Conversations introducing poetry |  |
141
THE CANKERED ROSE.
As Spring to Summer hours gave way,
And June approach'd, beneath whose sway
My lovely Fanny saw the day,
I mark'd each blossom'd bower,
And bade each plant its charms display,
To crown the favour'd hour.
And June approach'd, beneath whose sway
My lovely Fanny saw the day,
I mark'd each blossom'd bower,
And bade each plant its charms display,
To crown the favour'd hour.
The favour'd hour to me so bright,
When Fanny first beheld the light,
And I should many a bloom unite,
A votive wreath to twine,
And with the lily's virgin white,
More glowing hues combine.
When Fanny first beheld the light,
And I should many a bloom unite,
A votive wreath to twine,
And with the lily's virgin white,
More glowing hues combine.
A wreath that, while I hail'd the day,
All the fond things I meant, might say
(As Indian maids their thoughts array,
By artful quipo's wove;)
And fragrant symbols thus convey
My tenderness and love.
All the fond things I meant, might say
(As Indian maids their thoughts array,
By artful quipo's wove;)
And fragrant symbols thus convey
My tenderness and love.
For this I sought where long had grown,
A rosarie I call'd my own,
Whose rich unrivall'd flowers were known
The earliest to unclose,
And where I hoped would soon be blown,
The first and fairest Rose.
A rosarie I call'd my own,
Whose rich unrivall'd flowers were known
The earliest to unclose,
And where I hoped would soon be blown,
The first and fairest Rose.
142
An infant bud there cradled lay,
Mid new born leaves; and seem'd to stay
Till June should call, with warmer ray,
It's embryo beauty forth;
Reserv'd for that propitious day
That gave my Fanny birth.
Mid new born leaves; and seem'd to stay
Till June should call, with warmer ray,
It's embryo beauty forth;
Reserv'd for that propitious day
That gave my Fanny birth.
At early morning's dewy hour,
I watch'd it in its leafy bower,
And heard with dread the sleety shower,
When eastern tempests blew,
But still unhurt my favourite flower
With fairer promise grew.
I watch'd it in its leafy bower,
And heard with dread the sleety shower,
When eastern tempests blew,
But still unhurt my favourite flower
With fairer promise grew.
From rains and breezes sharp and bleak,
Secur'd, I saw its calyx break,
And soon a lovely blushing streak
The latent bloom betray'd;
(Such colours on my Fanny's cheek,
Has cunning Nature laid.)
Secur'd, I saw its calyx break,
And soon a lovely blushing streak
The latent bloom betray'd;
(Such colours on my Fanny's cheek,
Has cunning Nature laid.)
Illusive hope! The day arriv'd,
I saw my cherish'd rose—It lived,
But of its early charms depriv'd,
No odours could impart;
And scarce with sullied leaves, surviv'd
The canker at its heart.
I saw my cherish'd rose—It lived,
But of its early charms depriv'd,
No odours could impart;
And scarce with sullied leaves, surviv'd
The canker at its heart.
There unsuspected, long had fed
A noxious worm, and mining spread,
The dark pollution o'er its head,
That drooping seem'd to mourn
Its fragrance pure, and petals red,
Destroy'd e'er fully born.
A noxious worm, and mining spread,
143
That drooping seem'd to mourn
Its fragrance pure, and petals red,
Destroy'd e'er fully born.
Unfinish'd now, and incomplete,
My garland lay at Fanny's feet,
She smil'd;—ah could I then repeat
What youth so little knows,
How the too trusting heart must beat
With pain, when treachery and deceit
In some insidious form, defeat
Its fairest hopes; as cankers eat
The yet unfolded rose.
My garland lay at Fanny's feet,
She smil'd;—ah could I then repeat
What youth so little knows,
How the too trusting heart must beat
With pain, when treachery and deceit
In some insidious form, defeat
Its fairest hopes; as cankers eat
The yet unfolded rose.
| Conversations introducing poetry | |