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The Poetical Works of Thomas Pringle

With A Sketch of his Life, by Leitch Ritchie

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IV. LONG YEARS OF SORROW.
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IV. LONG YEARS OF SORROW.

Long years of sorrow and slow-wasting care
Have stol'n from thy soft cheek its vermeil hue;
And somewhat changed the glossy locks that threw
Their shadowy beauty round thy temples fair;
And lent to those sweet eyes a sadder air,
That, from their long dark fringes laughing, blue,
Once looked like violets fresh-bathed in dew,
And seemed as they might even enchant despair!
Sickness and grief have touched thee; yet so mildly,
That though some graces of thy youth are gone,
The loveliness that witched my heart so wildly
In life's romantic spring—is still thine own:
And those meek pensive eyes, in their revealings,
Speak now of higher thoughts and deeper feelings.