Poems by the late John Bethune With a sketch of the author's life, by his brother |
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SONNET ON THE DEPARTURE OF THE YEAR 1832. |
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| II. |
 | Poems by the late John Bethune |  |
SONNET ON THE DEPARTURE OF THE YEAR 1832.
Thus thou expirest, thou momentous year—Thy last, last vital moments are departing,
And many a heart o'er thy sad lapse is smarting:
Yet not for thee falls the big burning tear;
But for the friends, than life itself more dear,
Whom thou has swept away, these drops are starting.
Bright forms which bounded lightly at thy birth—
Eyes which with love and hope were sparkling clear—
Have left an empty seat on many a hearth,
And gone where neither hope nor love can cheer:
They “take no note of time;” worms are their guests!
And thy successor, who now dimly starts
Upon us from eternity, fresh feasts
Shall give these reptiles, of fresh human hearts!
| Poems by the late John Bethune | |