I KNOW an aged Man constrained to dwell In a large house of public charity, Where he abides, as in a Prisoner's cell, With numbers near, alas! no company.
When he could creep about, at will, though poor And forced to live on alms, this old Man fed 6 A Redbreast, one that to his cottage door Came not, but in a lane partook his bread.
There, at the root of one particular tree, An easy seat this worn-out Labourer found While Robin pecked the crumbs upon his knee Laid one by one, or scattered on the ground.
Dear intercourse was theirs, day after day; What signs of mutual gladness when they met ! Think of their common peace, their simple play, The parting moment and its fond regret.
Months passed in love that failed not to fulfil, In spite of season's change, its own demand, By fluttering pinions here and busy bill; There by caresses from a tremulous hand.
Thus in the chosen spot a tie so strong Was formed between the solitary pair, That when his fate had housed him mid a throng The Captive shunned all converse proffered
Wife, children, kindred, they were dead and
But, if no evil hap his wishes crossed, One living Stay was left, and on that one Some recompense for all that he had lost.
O that the good old Man had power to prove, By message sent through air or visible token, 30 That still he loves the Bird, and still must
No successors; and, lodged in memory, If love exist no longer, it must die,- Wanting accustomed food must pass from earth, Or never hope to reach a second birth. This sad belief, the happiest that is left To thousands, share not Thou; howe'er bereft, Scorned, or neglected, fear not such a dearth. Though poor and destitute of friends thou art, Perhaps the sole survivor of thy race, One to whom Heaven assigns that mournful
The utmost solitude of age to face, Still shall be left some corner of the heart
Where Love for living Thing can find a place.
These lines are by the Author of the Address to the Wind, &c., published heretofore along with my Poems. Those to a Redbreast are by a deceased female Relative.
HARMONIOUS Powers with Nature work On sky, earth, river, lake and sea; Sunshine and cloud, whirlwind and breeze,
All in one duteous task agree.
Once did I see a slip of earth
(By throbbing waves long undermined) Loosed from its hold; how, no one knew, But all might see it float, obedient to the wind;
Food, shelter, safety, there they find; There berries ripen, flowerets bloom; There insects live their lives, and die; A peopled world it is; in size a tiny room.
And thus through many seasons' space This little Island may survive; But Nature, though we mark her not, Will take away, may cease to give.
Perchance when you are wandering forth
Upon some vacant sunny day, Without an object, hope, or fear,
Thither your eyes may turn-the Isle is passed
Buried beneath the glittering Lake, Its place no longer to be found; Yet the lost fragments shall remain To fertilise some other ground.
How beautiful the Queen of Night, on high Her way pursuing among scattered clouds, Where, ever and anon, her head she shrouds Hidden from view in dense obscurity. But look, and to the watchful eye A brightening edge will indicate that soon We shall behold the struggling Moon Break forth, again to walk the clear blue sky. 1846. (?)
"Late, late yestreen I saw the new moone Wi' the auld moone in hir arme."
Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence, Percy's Reliques.
ONCE I could hail (howe'er serene the sky) The Moon re-entering her monthly round, No faculty yet given me to espy The dusky Shape within her arms imbound, That thin memento of effulgence lost Which some have named her Predecessor's
Young, like the Crescent that above me shone, Nought I perceived within it dull or dim; All that appeared was suitable to One Whose fancy had a thousand fields to skim; 10 To expectations spreading with wild growth, And hope that kept with me her plighted troth. I saw (ambition quickening at the view) A silver boat launched on a boundless flood; A pearly crest, like Dian's when it threw Its brightest splendour round a leafy wood; But not a hint from under-ground, no sign Fit for the glimmering brow of Proserpine.
Or was it Dian's self that seemed to move Before me?-nothing blemished the fair sight; On her I looked whom jocund Fairies love, 21 Cynthia, who puts the little stars to flight, And by that thinning magnifies the great, For exaltation of her sovereign state.
And when I learned to mark the spectral
As each new Moon obeyed the call of Time, If gloom fell on me, swift was my escape; Such happy privilege hath life's gay Prime, To see or not to see, as best may please A buoyant Spirit, and a heart at ease.
Now, dazzling Stranger! when thou meet'st
Thy dark Associate ever I discern; Emblem of thoughts too eager to advance While I salute my joys, thoughts sad or stern; Shades of past bliss, or phantoms that, to gain Their fill of promised lustre, wait in vain.
So changes mortal Life with fleeting years; A mournful change, should Reason fail to
The timely insight that can temper fears, And from vicissitude remove its sting; While Faith aspires to seats in that domain Where joys are perfect-neither wax nor wane.
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