 | The Poetical Works of Caroline Bowles Southey |  |
THE WINTRY MAY.—1837.
When Summer faded last away
I sighed o'er every shortening day;
Comparing, with its pale-hued flowers,
My sicklied hopes and numbered hours,
And thinking—“Shall I ever see
That Summer sun renewed for me?”
I sighed o'er every shortening day;
Comparing, with its pale-hued flowers,
My sicklied hopes and numbered hours,
And thinking—“Shall I ever see
That Summer sun renewed for me?”
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When Autumn shed her foliage sere,
Methought I could have dropt a tear
With every shrivelled leaf that fell,
And frost-nipped blossom. “Who can tell,
When leaves again clothe shrub and tree,”
Whispered my heart, “where thou wilt be?”
Methought I could have dropt a tear
With every shrivelled leaf that fell,
And frost-nipped blossom. “Who can tell,
When leaves again clothe shrub and tree,”
Whispered my heart, “where thou wilt be?”
But when Old Winter's rule severe
Set in triumphant—dark and drear—
Though shrinking from the bitter blast,
Methought, “This worst once overpast,
With balmy, blessèd Spring, may be
A short revival yet for me.”
Set in triumphant—dark and drear—
Though shrinking from the bitter blast,
Methought, “This worst once overpast,
With balmy, blessèd Spring, may be
A short revival yet for me.”
And this is May—but where, oh! where
The balmy breath, the perfumed air
I pined for, while my weary sprite
Languished away the long, long night,
Living on dreams of roving free
By primrose bank and cowslip lea?
The balmy breath, the perfumed air
I pined for, while my weary sprite
Languished away the long, long night,
Living on dreams of roving free
By primrose bank and cowslip lea?
Unkindly season! cruel Spring!
To the sick wretch no balm ye bring;
No herald-gleam of summer days,
Reviving, vivifying rays.
Seasons to come may brighter be,
But Time—Life—Hope—run short with me.
To the sick wretch no balm ye bring;
No herald-gleam of summer days,
Reviving, vivifying rays.
Seasons to come may brighter be,
But Time—Life—Hope—run short with me.
Yet therefore faint not, fearful heart!
Look up and learn “the better part”
That shall outlast Life's little day;
Seek Peace, which passeth not away,
Look to the land where God shall be
Life—light—yea, all in all to thee.
Look up and learn “the better part”
That shall outlast Life's little day;
Seek Peace, which passeth not away,
Look to the land where God shall be
Life—light—yea, all in all to thee.
| The Poetical Works of Caroline Bowles Southey | |