 | The poems of Dr. Yalden |  |
HYMN TO THE MORNING.
IN PRAISE OF LIGHT.
Parent of Day! whose beauteous beams of light
Spring from the darksome womb of Night,
And midst their native horrours show,
Like gems adorning of the Negro's brow:
Not Heav'n's fair bow can equal thee,
In all its gaudy drapery;
Thou first essay of light, and pledge of day!
That usher'st in the Sun, and still prepar'st its way.
Spring from the darksome womb of Night,
And midst their native horrours show,
Like gems adorning of the Negro's brow:
Not Heav'n's fair bow can equal thee,
In all its gaudy drapery;
Thou first essay of light, and pledge of day!
That usher'st in the Sun, and still prepar'st its way.
Rival of Shade, eternal spring of light!
Thou art the genuine source of it:
From thy bright unexhausted womb,
The beauteous race of Days and Seasons come.
Thy beauty ages cannot wrong,
But, spight of Time, thou'rt ever young:
Thou art alone Heaven's modest virgin Light,
Whose face a veil of blushes hides from human sight.
Thou art the genuine source of it:
From thy bright unexhausted womb,
The beauteous race of Days and Seasons come.
Thy beauty ages cannot wrong,
But, spight of Time, thou'rt ever young:
Thou art alone Heaven's modest virgin Light,
Whose face a veil of blushes hides from human sight.
Like some fair bride thou risest from thy bed,
And dost around thy lustre spread;
Around the universe dispense
New life to all, and quickening influence.
With gloomy smiles thy rival Night
Beholds thy glorious dawn of light:
Not all the wealth she views in mines below
Can match thy brighter beams, or equal lustre show.
And dost around thy lustre spread;
Around the universe dispense
New life to all, and quickening influence.
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Beholds thy glorious dawn of light:
Not all the wealth she views in mines below
Can match thy brighter beams, or equal lustre show.
At thy approach, Nature erects her head,
The smiling Universe is glad;
The drowsy Earth and Seas awake,
And from thy beams, new life and vigour take:
When thy more chearful rays appear,
Ev'n Guilt and women cease to fear:
Horrour, Despair, and all the sons of Night
Retire before thy beams, and take their hasty flight.
The smiling Universe is glad;
The drowsy Earth and Seas awake,
And from thy beams, new life and vigour take:
When thy more chearful rays appear,
Ev'n Guilt and women cease to fear:
Horrour, Despair, and all the sons of Night
Retire before thy beams, and take their hasty flight.
To thee, the grateful East their altars raise,
And sing with early hymns thy praise;
Thou dost their happy soil bestow,
Enrich the Heavens above, and Earth below:
Thou risest in the fragrant East,
Like the fair Phœnix from her balmy nest:
No altar of the gods can equal thine,
The Air's thy richest incense, the whole land thy shrine!
And sing with early hymns thy praise;
Thou dost their happy soil bestow,
Enrich the Heavens above, and Earth below:
Thou risest in the fragrant East,
Like the fair Phœnix from her balmy nest:
No altar of the gods can equal thine,
The Air's thy richest incense, the whole land thy shrine!
But yet thy fading glories soon decay.
Thine's but a momentary stay;
Too soon thou'rt ravish'd from our sight,
Borne down the stream of day, and overwhelm'd with light.
Thy beams to their own ruin haste,
They're fram'd too exquisite to last:
Thine is a glorious, but a short-liv'd state.
Pity so fair a birth should yield so soon to Fate!
Thine's but a momentary stay;
Too soon thou'rt ravish'd from our sight,
Borne down the stream of day, and overwhelm'd with light.
Thy beams to their own ruin haste,
They're fram'd too exquisite to last:
Thine is a glorious, but a short-liv'd state.
Pity so fair a birth should yield so soon to Fate!
Before th' Almighty Artist fram'd the sky,
Or gave the Earth its harmony,
His first command was for thy light:
He view'd the lovely birth, and blessed it:
In purple swaddling-bands it struggling lay,
Not yet maturely bright for day:
Old Chaos then a chearful smile put on,
And, from thy beauteous form, did first presage its own
Or gave the Earth its harmony,
His first command was for thy light:
He view'd the lovely birth, and blessed it:
In purple swaddling-bands it struggling lay,
Not yet maturely bright for day:
Old Chaos then a chearful smile put on,
And, from thy beauteous form, did first presage its own
“Let there be Light!” the great Creator said,
His word the active child obey'd:
Night did her teeming womb disclose;
And then the blushing Morn, its brightest offspring, rose.
Awhile th' Almighty wondering view'd,
And then himself pronounc'd it good:
“With Night,” said he, “divide th' imperial sway;
Thou my first labour art, and thou shalt bless the Day”
His word the active child obey'd:
Night did her teeming womb disclose;
And then the blushing Morn, its brightest offspring, rose.
Awhile th' Almighty wondering view'd,
And then himself pronounc'd it good:
“With Night,” said he, “divide th' imperial sway;
Thou my first labour art, and thou shalt bless the Day”
| The poems of Dr. Yalden | |