University of Virginia Library

On mountain ridge, ere he withdrew,
Sad Assad took a parting view;—
And there seem'd in that latest glance
Remembrance,—doubt,—and melancholy,—
A sadden'd cast,—a feeling holy;—
It was a wistful countenance!
He rested long on his own dark bower,
That had given him many a joyous hour,—
That had held him from his day of birth
Till the moment he left his native earth;
Whose floors had often felt the press
Of mirthful feet in playfulness;—
Whose mirrors had often back reflected
The bright black eyes of a loving maid,
Long since by Turkish hand betray'd.
Alas! those mirrors are now neglected;
And she who looks on the polish'd plates,
Dust unmolested contemplates,—
And well may read, as she gazes there,
The fate of all that's bright and fair.
He paused on many a circling lake,
That had help'd in the course his thirst to slake;—
He paused on shrub, and rock, and valley,
Where playful sunbeams love to dally:
And then his face, his eye express'd
A wish to linger,—yet to fly;—
His home was here,—his love was gone,—
With her was every feeling flown?
Ah! No:—his mother claim'd a sigh!
He long'd to stay, but then again,
Suddenly through his frenzied brain,
The image of his maid would cross,—
Her trackless flight,—her cruel loss;—
Perchance o'er hot and sandy plain,—
Perhaps sailing on the dark blue main,—
Or wandering on some desart shore,
With prospect of protection o'er;
The thoughts would rush so quick, so strong,
Of his despair, of Safie's wrong,
That mind and heart were bent to flee
From land, from home, from misery!—
He turn'd his steps, and sought to smother
All rankling feelings of the past;—
He sought to fly with maddening haste;—
But could he then desert his mother!
Leave her without a last farewell,
The mother he had loved so well!
A kiss might soften timeless flight;
A parting look were ray of light,
In such a day of gloomy grief,
When sighs were hope, and tears relief.