 | A Collection of Poems |  |
35
ABSENCE.
Pastoral VII.
------ Paulò majora canamus.
Virg. Ec. 4.
Virg. Ec. 4.
Begin my rural Muse a loftier Strain,
Sublimer lift the Musick of the Plain;
The Theme commands. I sing the Spouse (of old,
In Song inspir'd, and sacred Numbers told.)
All plaintive laid in Sharon's flow'ry Grove,
Thus moan'd in Absence, and proclaim'd her love:
And as she mourn'd, the Winds forgot to blow,
The Birds to warble, and the Streams to flow:
All Nature hush'd, and all Attention grown,
Repeated not one Echoe of it's own;
But catching at the soft dejected Song,
Responds aloud these Words of Sponsa's Tongue.
Sublimer lift the Musick of the Plain;
The Theme commands. I sing the Spouse (of old,
In Song inspir'd, and sacred Numbers told.)
All plaintive laid in Sharon's flow'ry Grove,
Thus moan'd in Absence, and proclaim'd her love:
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The Birds to warble, and the Streams to flow:
All Nature hush'd, and all Attention grown,
Repeated not one Echoe of it's own;
But catching at the soft dejected Song,
Responds aloud these Words of Sponsa's Tongue.
How long delightless, must I mourn thy Stay,
Relieve my Pains, arise, and come away.
Relieve my Pains, arise, and come away.
Behold, the bleaky Time of Winter's past,
Nor darksome Clouds the troubl'd Skies o'ercast:
Th' indulgent Season shows the youthful Year,
And gives a warmer Breeze, and sweeter Air;
The Fields begin to shine in Bloom again,
And Birds exult, and dawning Bliss proclaim,
All Nature ravish'd, seems with Joy to sing,
And hail the sweet return of flow'ry Spring:
In ev'ry wavy Wood, and shady Grove,
We hear an am'rous Turtle court his Love;
In mutt'ring Notes he pays his melting Vows,
And bills his Mate, who answers him in Cooes.
The Fig-Trees here a wealthy Load display,
The waxing Fruit enlarges ev'ry Day:
And there, the Grapes in luscious Clusters swell.
Their sweet Effluvia waft a grateful Smell.
Nor darksome Clouds the troubl'd Skies o'ercast:
Th' indulgent Season shows the youthful Year,
And gives a warmer Breeze, and sweeter Air;
The Fields begin to shine in Bloom again,
And Birds exult, and dawning Bliss proclaim,
All Nature ravish'd, seems with Joy to sing,
And hail the sweet return of flow'ry Spring:
In ev'ry wavy Wood, and shady Grove,
We hear an am'rous Turtle court his Love;
In mutt'ring Notes he pays his melting Vows,
And bills his Mate, who answers him in Cooes.
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The waxing Fruit enlarges ev'ry Day:
And there, the Grapes in luscious Clusters swell.
Their sweet Effluvia waft a grateful Smell.
How long delightless, must I mourn thy Stay?
Relieve my Pains, arise, and come away:
Relieve my Pains, arise, and come away:
While thou art absent, ev'ry Thing to please,
Not once enlivens Health, but turns Disease.
All Day in sad and solemn Tears I mourn,
And wish (I know not why) for Night's return.
Not once enlivens Health, but turns Disease.
All Day in sad and solemn Tears I mourn,
And wish (I know not why) for Night's return.
By Night, kind Rest, and Sleep's embraces fled,
And weary with my solitary Bed,
I rise, and walk the Melancholy gloom,
(Sad as my Soul, and chearless as my Doom)
There seek thy Face, and ev'ry Place explore
Where I have known thy Company before:
In what Recess, obscurely dost thou lie?
I call aloud, but empty Winds reply.
And weary with my solitary Bed,
I rise, and walk the Melancholy gloom,
(Sad as my Soul, and chearless as my Doom)
There seek thy Face, and ev'ry Place explore
Where I have known thy Company before:
In what Recess, obscurely dost thou lie?
I call aloud, but empty Winds reply.
How long delightless, must I mourn thy stay?
Relieve my Pains, arise, and come away.
Relieve my Pains, arise, and come away.
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O might these fragrant Scenes, so lov'd by thee,
Invite thee to return, so lov'd by me!
Invite thee to return, so lov'd by me!
Ye Winds, to leave the North, your Pinions try,
And from the softer South in Whispers fly;
Come breathe along these Gardens, Groves, and Greens,
And bathe each flow'ry Plant in od'rous Streams;
Ye balmy Gales of Air, ye Zephyrs blow!
And court the Floods of mellow'd Spice to flow;
That he, my chiefest Joy, may deign to come,
To taste the Fruit, and smell the fragrant Bloom:
The ripen'd Juices shall invite his Taste,
Prolong his Stay, and make his Sponsa blest.
And from the softer South in Whispers fly;
Come breathe along these Gardens, Groves, and Greens,
And bathe each flow'ry Plant in od'rous Streams;
Ye balmy Gales of Air, ye Zephyrs blow!
And court the Floods of mellow'd Spice to flow;
That he, my chiefest Joy, may deign to come,
To taste the Fruit, and smell the fragrant Bloom:
The ripen'd Juices shall invite his Taste,
Prolong his Stay, and make his Sponsa blest.
O thou the dearest of my tendrest Part,
Pride of my Soul, and Glory of my Heart!
Pride of my Soul, and Glory of my Heart!
How long delightless, must I mourn thy stay?
Relieve my Pains, arise, and come away.
Relieve my Pains, arise, and come away.
Ah! When shall I again thy Presence find,
More lovely, and more lov'd, than all Mankind?
More lovely, and more lov'd, than all Mankind?
As barren, worthless Forest-trees appear,
When the full golden Apple-tree is near.
Such, looks the Herd of all Mankind to me,
And such the fairest Youths, compar'd with thee.
When the full golden Apple-tree is near.
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And such the fairest Youths, compar'd with thee.
Not Lebanon, with Cedars cover'd o'er,
In great exalted Beauties, charms us more;
And yet in thee, the mildest Glories shine,
Nor has the Dove a kinder Eye than thine.
Such thou, the Feeder of my tender Fires,
The sacred Object of my Soul's desires!
In great exalted Beauties, charms us more;
And yet in thee, the mildest Glories shine,
Nor has the Dove a kinder Eye than thine.
Such thou, the Feeder of my tender Fires,
The sacred Object of my Soul's desires!
How long delightless, must I mourn thy Stay?
Relieve my Pains, arise, and come away.
Relieve my Pains, arise, and come away.
While I with thee enjoy'd the breezy Shade,
And tufted Greens, and Flow'rs adorn'd the Bed:
On golden Boughs was cluster'd mellow'd-Fruit,
That bow'd the Branch, and glow'd beneath the Shoot:
O pleasant Fruit of more than mortal Taste!
O Feast cœlestial! O divine Repast!
And tufted Greens, and Flow'rs adorn'd the Bed:
On golden Boughs was cluster'd mellow'd-Fruit,
That bow'd the Branch, and glow'd beneath the Shoot:
O pleasant Fruit of more than mortal Taste!
O Feast cœlestial! O divine Repast!
Let me forever on thy Bosom rest,
Stamp'd on thy Heart, and seal'd within thy Breast!
There nothing can destroy what Love inspires;
Nor Waves, nor Floods can quench th' eternal Fires:
Love knows no Age, but full immortal Prime,
Nor waxes feebler in th' immense of Time;
I feel it here, O come! my Vitals stay,
Or else I faint, or else I die away.
Stamp'd on thy Heart, and seal'd within thy Breast!
There nothing can destroy what Love inspires;
Nor Waves, nor Floods can quench th' eternal Fires:
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Nor waxes feebler in th' immense of Time;
I feel it here, O come! my Vitals stay,
Or else I faint, or else I die away.
O stay my Spirits with cœlestial Wine,
And give the Comforts of thy Fruit divine!
From my faint Heart this pressing Care remove,
And raise my Soul that sickly sinks in Love!
And give the Comforts of thy Fruit divine!
From my faint Heart this pressing Care remove,
And raise my Soul that sickly sinks in Love!
How long delightless, must I mourn thy stay?
Relieve my Pains, arise, and come away.
Relieve my Pains, arise, and come away.
Ah! sure his Voice I hear, or else I dream;
It must be his, for none can mimick him.
See, where he comes! not swifter flies the Hind;
Skim back, the Hills; and Mountains roul behind.
It must be his, for none can mimick him.
See, where he comes! not swifter flies the Hind;
Skim back, the Hills; and Mountains roul behind.
No more delightless, shall I mourn his stay,
My Pains are now reliev'd, he comes away.
My Pains are now reliev'd, he comes away.
| A Collection of Poems | |