O ye keen and gusty mountains, On whose top I braved the sky! O ye music-pouring fountains, On whose marge I loved to lie! O ye posies,-lilies, roses, All the charms that earth discloses! Must I-must I from ye fly, Bid ye all adieu-and die? O ye birds whose matin chorus And ye herds, whose voice sonorous Learned leisure, and the pleasure Must I must I from ye fly, Bid ye all adieu-and die? O domestic ties endearing, Which still chain my soul to earth!. O ye friends, whose converse cheering, Wing'd the hours with social mirth! Songs of gladness, chasing sadness, Wine's delight, without its madness; Must I-must I from ye fly, Bid ye all adieu-and die? Yes I now fulfil the fiction Of the swan that sings in death ;— Earth, receive my benediction, Air, inhale my parting breath; Hills and valleys, forest alleys, Take, oh! take my last adieu. Yet perhaps when all is ended, And the grave dissolves my frame, The elements from which 'twas blended May their several parts reclaim; Waters flowing, breezes blowing, Earth, and all upon it growing, Still may have my alter'd essence, Ever floating in their presence. While my disembodied spirit May to fields Elysian soar, And some lowest seat inherit Near the mighty bards of yore; Never, never to dissever, But to dwell in bliss for ever, Tuning an enthusiast lyre To that high and laurell'd quire. SONNETS. ETERNAL and Omnipotent Unseen! Who bad'st the world, with all its lives complete, Start from the void and thrill beneath thy feet, Thee I adore with reverence serene; Here, in the fields, thine own cathedral meet, Built by thyself, star-roof'd, and hung with green, Here hast thou spread that Book to every eye, Thine own right hand hath stamp'd might, justice, love; Grand Trinity, which binds in due degree, God, man, and brute, in social unity. MORNING. BEAUTIFUL Earth! O how can I refrain The glorious Sun; his flaming locks unfold Warble on high hosannas uncontroll❜d. All nature worships thee, thou new-born day! Upon the shrine of incense-breathing earth; And praise, through thee, the God that gave thee birth. |