 | Poems |  |
74
TO MY BELOVED MOTHER,
ON HER BIRTH-DAY, JUNE 15, 1808.
The rosy blush of blooming morn
Illumes the jasmine's fragrant bower;
Its brilliant tints the grove adorn,
And deck each dew-bespangled flower.
Illumes the jasmine's fragrant bower;
Its brilliant tints the grove adorn,
And deck each dew-bespangled flower.
June's balmy fragrance scents the gale,
The meads in rich luxuriance shine;
The wild-rose gleams, in beauty pale,
And woodbines 'mid the hedge-rows twine.
The meads in rich luxuriance shine;
The wild-rose gleams, in beauty pale,
And woodbines 'mid the hedge-rows twine.
The linnet, from yon hawthorn shade,
Pours his mild notes so gay and light;
And, springing from the bending blade,
The sky-lark sings at dizzy height.
Pours his mild notes so gay and light;
And, springing from the bending blade,
The sky-lark sings at dizzy height.
75
All nature hails the happy day,
That smil'd on my lov'd mother's birth,—
And shall not Mary's simple lay
Attempt to tell her matchless worth?
That smil'd on my lov'd mother's birth,—
And shall not Mary's simple lay
Attempt to tell her matchless worth?
Oh! no, still Mary strives in vain
Her mind's rich treasures to display;
Where taste and modest science reign,
And intellect's soul-piercing ray.
Her mind's rich treasures to display;
Where taste and modest science reign,
And intellect's soul-piercing ray.
No; not to Mary's lay 'tis giv'n,
To paint that heart, so good, so pure!
That faith, that looks from earth to Heav'n,
And knows its blest reward secure.
To paint that heart, so good, so pure!
That faith, that looks from earth to Heav'n,
And knows its blest reward secure.
Oh! long and happy may she live,
In peace and virtue beaming mild!
Long, long, a bright example give!
And bless her husband, and her child!
In peace and virtue beaming mild!
Long, long, a bright example give!
And bless her husband, and her child!
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