The Poetical Works of the late Mrs Mary Robinson including many pieces never before published. In Three Volumes |
 | I. |
|
|
|
ODE TO THE MOON. |
|
| I. |
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| II. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| III. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| IV. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| V. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| II. |
| III. |
|
| 1. |
| 2. |
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| XVII. |
| XVIII. |
| XIX. |
| XX. |
| XXI. |
| XXII. |
| XXIII. |
| XXIV. |
| XXV. |
| XXVI. |
| XXVII. |
| XXVIII. |
| XXIX. |
| XXX. |
| XXXI. |
| XXXII. |
| XXXIII. |
| XXXIV. |
| XXXV. |
| XXXVI. |
| XXXVII. |
| XXXVIII. |
| XXXIX. |
| XL. |
| XLI. |
| XLII. |
| XLIII. |
 | The Poetical Works of the late Mrs Mary Robinson |  |
140
ODE TO THE MOON.
Pale Goddess of the witching hour!
Blest Contemplation's placid friend!
Oft in my solitary bow'r
I mark thy lucid beam
From thy crystal car descend,
Whitening the spangled heath and limpid sapphire stream.
Blest Contemplation's placid friend!
Oft in my solitary bow'r
I mark thy lucid beam
From thy crystal car descend,
Whitening the spangled heath and limpid sapphire stream.
And oft amidst the shades of night
I court thy undulating light;
When Fairies dance around the verdant ring,
Or, sportive, frisk beside the bubbling spring;
When the thoughtless Shepherd's song
Echoes thro' the silent air,
While he pens his fleecy care,
Or plods with saunt'ring gait the dewy meads along.
I court thy undulating light;
When Fairies dance around the verdant ring,
Or, sportive, frisk beside the bubbling spring;
When the thoughtless Shepherd's song
Echoes thro' the silent air,
While he pens his fleecy care,
Or plods with saunt'ring gait the dewy meads along.
141
Chaste Orb! as thro' the vaulted sky
Feath'ry clouds transparent sail;
When thy languid, weeping eye
Sheds its soft tears upon the painted vale;
As sad I ponder o'er the rising floods,
Or tread with listless step th' embow'ring woods,
O let thy soft, though transitory beam,
Soothe my sad mind with Fancy's aëry dream.
Feath'ry clouds transparent sail;
When thy languid, weeping eye
Sheds its soft tears upon the painted vale;
As sad I ponder o'er the rising floods,
Or tread with listless step th' embow'ring woods,
O let thy soft, though transitory beam,
Soothe my sad mind with Fancy's aëry dream.
Wrapt in Reflection, let me trace,
Around the vast ethereal space,
Stars, whose twinkling fires illume
Dark-brow'd Night's obtrusive gloom:
Where, across the concave wide,
Flaming Meteors swiftly glide;
Or, along the milky way,
Vapours shoot a silvery ray;
And as I mark thy faint reclining head,
Sinking on Ocean's glassy bed,
Let Reason tell my soul, thus all things fade:
The Seasons change, the gaudy Sun,
When Day's burning car hath run
Its fiery course, no more we view,
While o'er the mountain's golden head,
Streak'd with tints of crimson hue,
Twilight's filmy curtains spread,
Stealing o'er Nature's face, a desolating shade.
Around the vast ethereal space,
Stars, whose twinkling fires illume
Dark-brow'd Night's obtrusive gloom:
Where, across the concave wide,
Flaming Meteors swiftly glide;
Or, along the milky way,
Vapours shoot a silvery ray;
And as I mark thy faint reclining head,
Sinking on Ocean's glassy bed,
Let Reason tell my soul, thus all things fade:
The Seasons change, the gaudy Sun,
When Day's burning car hath run
Its fiery course, no more we view,
While o'er the mountain's golden head,
Streak'd with tints of crimson hue,
Twilight's filmy curtains spread,
Stealing o'er Nature's face, a desolating shade.
142
Yon musky Flow'r, that scents the earth;
The Sod, that gave its odours birth;
The Rock, that breaks the torrent's force;
The Vale, that owns its wand'ring course;
The woodlands, where the vocal throng
Trill the wild melodious song;
Thirsty deserts, sands that glow,
Mountains, capp'd with flaky snow;
Luxuriant groves, enamell'd fields,
All that prolific nature yields,
Alike shall end; the sensate Heart,
With all its passions, all its fire,
Touch'd by Fate's unerring dart,
Shall feel its vital strength expire;
Those eyes, that beam with Friendship's ray,
And glance ineffable delight,
Shall shrink from Life's translucid day,
And close their fainting orbs in Death's impervious night.
The Sod, that gave its odours birth;
The Rock, that breaks the torrent's force;
The Vale, that owns its wand'ring course;
The woodlands, where the vocal throng
Trill the wild melodious song;
Thirsty deserts, sands that glow,
Mountains, capp'd with flaky snow;
Luxuriant groves, enamell'd fields,
All that prolific nature yields,
Alike shall end; the sensate Heart,
With all its passions, all its fire,
Touch'd by Fate's unerring dart,
Shall feel its vital strength expire;
Those eyes, that beam with Friendship's ray,
And glance ineffable delight,
Shall shrink from Life's translucid day,
And close their fainting orbs in Death's impervious night.
Then what remains for mortal pow'r,
But Time's dull journey to beguile;
To deck with joy the winged hour,
To meet its sorrows with a patient smile;
And when the toilsome pilgrimage shall end,
To greet the tyrant, as a welcome friend.
But Time's dull journey to beguile;
To deck with joy the winged hour,
To meet its sorrows with a patient smile;
And when the toilsome pilgrimage shall end,
To greet the tyrant, as a welcome friend.
| The Poetical Works of the late Mrs Mary Robinson | |