Poems of Purpose and Sketches in Prose of Scottish Peasant Life and Character in Auld Langsyne, Sketches of Local Scenes and Characters, With a Glossary. By Janet Hamilton |
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DECAY. |
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 | Poems of Purpose and Sketches in Prose |  |
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DECAY.
THE MAIDEN.
I gazed on a beautiful girl,
How bright were the tints on her cheek!
How brilliant the light in her eyes!—
Her manner soft, pensive, and meek.
How bright were the tints on her cheek!
How brilliant the light in her eyes!—
Her manner soft, pensive, and meek.
So full of sad sweetness her smile,
Her voice like the low breathing flute;
Her fingers long, slender and white,
And soft the light fall of her foot.
Her voice like the low breathing flute;
Her fingers long, slender and white,
And soft the light fall of her foot.
But ah! the chill hand of desay
Lay cold on her white, heaving breast;
She faded away with the leaf—
The Autumn winds sung to her rest.
Lay cold on her white, heaving breast;
She faded away with the leaf—
The Autumn winds sung to her rest.
THE YOUTH.
A stripling, fair, slender, and tall,
And pale as the lily of May—
The down yet unmown on his cheek—
Is drooping in early decay.
And pale as the lily of May—
The down yet unmown on his cheek—
Is drooping in early decay.
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He strays by the lake and the stream,
Inhaling the health-bringing breeze;
Feeble his step, and panting his breath,
As he lingers beneath the trees.
Inhaling the health-bringing breeze;
Feeble his step, and panting his breath,
As he lingers beneath the trees.
Gloomy and stern November came,
'Twas cloudy, and stormy, and cold;
The death-cold youth is borne away
In his frozen mantle's fold.
'Twas cloudy, and stormy, and cold;
The death-cold youth is borne away
In his frozen mantle's fold.
THE AGED.
That stooping and tottering form!
He is wrinkled, hoary, and pale:
Slow decay is sapping his life,
And desire has begun to fail.
He is wrinkled, hoary, and pale:
Slow decay is sapping his life,
And desire has begun to fail.
The silver cord that bound his life
Is loosened; the aged form
Reposes now on his narrow bed,
With darkness, decay, and the worm.
Is loosened; the aged form
Reposes now on his narrow bed,
With darkness, decay, and the worm.
The human form, each thing that lives,
And grows on this perishing earth—
The trees, the plants, the flowers, the fruits—
Inherit decay from their birth.
And grows on this perishing earth—
The trees, the plants, the flowers, the fruits—
Inherit decay from their birth.
The heavens, with the shining stars,
Grow old and must suffer decay,
And, like a worn garment, be changed,
And vanish for ever away.
Grow old and must suffer decay,
And, like a worn garment, be changed,
And vanish for ever away.
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