 | Poems By The Reverend Mr. Hoyland |  |
ODE I. To his Guardian Angel.
I
Sweet Angel of my natal Hour!Thou to whose tutelary Pow'r
My infant Days were giv'n!
My bosom Friend! Companion dear!
For ever kind, for ever near,
While such the Will of Heav'n!
2
II
By thee inspir'd, the live-long DayRoll'd lightly on in Peace and Play,
Calm Slumbers crown'd the Night;
By thee, and simple Nature drawn,
E'er Reason spread her glimm'ring Dawn,
I sought, and found Delight.
III
'Twas thou, whene'er I rang'd the Mead,That drew me from the pois'nous Weed
Of tempting purple Dye;
That drew me from the fatal Brake,
Where coil'd in speckled Pride the Snake
Allur'd my longing Eye.
IV
Ah, why so soon to Reason's HandDidst thou resign th'imperial Wand,
Why yield the ruling Rein?
With thee are all my Comforts fled,
And Woes on endless Woes succeed,
A dire and gloomy Train!
3
V
Can Zephyr hush the surging Seas,Or whisper Silence in a Breeze,
When Boreas sweeps the Flood?
Can the soft Virgin's Voice restrain
The midnight Howlings of the Plain,
When Lyons roar for Food?
VI
So weak is Reason to controul,Or sooth the Tempests of the Soul,
When torn by Passions wild;
Tho' soft the Sound as Zephyrs Wing,
That whispers Tidings of the Spring,
As Voice of Virgin, mild.
VII
Come then, resume thy guardian Pow'r,Sweet Angel of my natal Hour,
To whom the Charge was giv'n!
Once more receive me to thy Care,
For ever kind, for ever near,
If such the Will of Heav'n.
| Poems By The Reverend Mr. Hoyland | |