Occasional Poems :: :: University of Virginia Library

This dismal Morn, when East Winds blow,
And ev'ry languid Pulse beats low,
With Face most sorrowfully grim,
And Head oppress'd with Wind, and Whim,
Grave as an Owl, and just as witty,
To thee I twang my doleful Ditty;
And in mine own dull Rhimes would find
Musick to sooth my restless Mind:
But oh! (my Friend) I sing in vain,
No Dogrel can relieve my Pain;

Since thou art gone my Heart's desire,
And Heav'n, and Earth, and Sea conspire,
To make my Miseries compleat;
Where shall a wretched Hip. retreat?
What shall a drooping Mortal do,
Who pines for Sunshine and for you?
If in the dark Alcove I dream,
And you, or Phillis, is my Theme,
While Love, or Friendship, warm my Soul,
My Shins are burning to a Coal.
If rais'd to Speculations high,
I gaze the Stars and spangled Sky,
With Heart devout and wond'ring Eye,
Amaz'd I view strange Globes of Light
Meteors with horrid Lustre bright,
My guilty trembling Soul affright.

To Mother Earth's prolifick Bed,
Pensive I stoop my giddy Head,
From thence too all my Hopes are fled.
Nor Flow'rs, nor Grass, nor Shrubs, appear,
To deck the smiling infant Year;
But Blasts my tender Blossoms wound,
And Desolation reigns around.
If Sea-ward my dark Thoughts I bend,
O! where will my Misfortunes end?
My Loyal Soul distracted meets
Attainted Dukes, and Spanish Fleets.
Thus jarring Elements unite,
Pregnant with Wrongs, and arm'd with Spight,
Successive Mischiefs ev'ry hour
On my devoted Head they pour.
Whate'er I do, where'er I go,
'Tis still an endless Scene of Woe.

'Tis thus Disconsolate I mourn,
I faint, I die, 'till thy Return;
'Till thy brisk Wit, and hum'rous Vein,
Restore me to myself again.
Let others vainly seek for Ease,
From Galen and Hippocrates,
I scorn such nauseous Aids as these.
Haste then (my Dear) unbrib'd attend,
The best Elixir is a Friend.

This Meteor appear'd the Night before the Writing of this, and its Passage is described by Mr. Whiston.

An Invasion from Spain was expected about this Time.