 | Poems and Songs by E. H. B. [i.e. E. H. Bickersteth] |  |
108
AUTUMN.
I
Hail! ye deep woods, whose crown of yellow leaves,Borne on the gale, o'erspreads the verdant lawn—
Hail! the last sunshine gleaming through the trees,
For mourners love to dwell thy scenes among.
II
Yes! mid autumnal shades a charm I find;There nature's beauties glow ere yet they fade,
Like friendship's farewell wafted on the wind,
Or the last sigh from lips of fairest maid.
III
Mine are the days, which, hastening to their goal,Leave nought but wasted hope and dark despair;
Mine is the mournful gaze o'er memory's tome,
Mine the regrets for many a wasted year.
IV
Earth, ere thou press me to thy folded breast,And thou, O sun! receive my latest tear;
Pure is the air, and radiant in the west
Thy beams are lingering o'er the lonely bier,
109
V
Bring,—bring life's cup,—I still would fondly drain,E'en to the dregs, that bitter cup of care;
Still madly dream to find unmixed with pain
Some honied sweetness lurk in secret there.
VI
Flowers breathe their odours to the passing gale,Then bow their heads enamoured of decay;
These their adieus which haunt the lowly vale,
These their last off'rings to the parting day.
VII
I too must fade, must too like flow'rets die,My soul be wafted to the bowers above;
There be exhaled,—in soft entrancement lie,—
Like sounds melodious breathing fondest love.
| Poems and Songs by E. H. B. [i.e. E. H. Bickersteth] | |