I WATCH, and long have watched, with calm regret
Yon slowly-sinking star-immortal Sire (So might he seem) of all the glittering quire! Blue ether still surrounds him—yet—and yet; But now the horizon's rocky parapet 5 Is reached, where, forfeiting his bright attire, He burns-transmuted to a dusky fire- Then pays submissively the appointed debt To the flying moments, and is seen no more. Angels and gods! We struggle with our fate, 10 While health, power, glory, from their height decline,
Depressed; and then extinguished and our
In this, how different, lost Star, from thine, That no to-morrow shall our beams restore!
I HEARD (alas! 'twas only in a dream) Strains-which, as sage Antiquity believed, By waking ears have sometimes been received Wafted adown the wind from lake or stream; A most melodious requiem, a supreme And perfect harmony of notes, achieved By a fair Swan on drowsy billows heaved, O'er which her pinions shed a silver gleam. For is she not the votary of Apollo? And knows she not, singing as he inspires, That bliss awaits her which the ungenial Hollow1 Of the dull earth partakes not, nor desires? Mount, tuneful Bird, and join the immortal quires!
1 See the "Phædo" of Plato, by which this Sonnet was suggested.
She soared-and I awoke, struggling in vain to
IF the whole weight of what we think and feel, Save only far as thought and feeling blend With action, were as nothing, patriot Friend! From thy remonstrance would be no appeal; But to promote and fortify the weal
Of her own Being is her paramount end; A truth which they alone shall comprehend Who shun the mischief which they cannot heal. Peace in these feverish times is sovereign bliss: Here, with no thirst but what the stream can slake,
And startled only by the rustling brake, Cool air I breathe; while the unincumbered Mind, By some weak aims at services assigned To gentle Natures, thanks not Heaven amiss. 1827. (?)
NOT Love, not War, nor the tumultuous swell Of civil conflict, nor the wrecks of change, Nor Duty struggling with afflictions strange- Not these alone inspire the tuneful shell; But where untroubled peace and concord dwell, 5 There also is the Muse not loth to range, Watching the twilight smoke of cot or grange, Skyward ascending from a woody dell. Meek aspirations please her, lone endeavour, And sage content, and placid melancholy; She loves to gaze upon a crystal river— Diaphanous because it travels slowly; Soft is the music that would charm for ever; The flower of sweetest smell is shy and lowly. 1823. (?)
MARK the concentred hazels that enclose Yon old grey Stone, protected from the ray Of noontide suns:-and even the beams that play And glance, while wantonly the rough wind blows,
Are seldom free to touch the moss that grows 5 Upon that roof, amid embowering gloom, The very image framing of a Tomb,
In which some ancient Chieftain finds repose Among the lonely mountains.-Live, ye trees! And thou, grey Stone, the pensive likeness keep 10 Of a dark chamber where the Mighty sleep: For more than Fancy to the influence bends When solitary Nature condescends To mimic Time's forlorn humanities.
COMPOSED AFTER A JOURNEY ACROSS THE HAMBLETON HILLS, YORKSHIRE.
DARK and more dark the shades of evening fell; The wished-for point was reached-but at an hour When little could be gained from that rich
Of prospect, whereof many thousands tell. Yet did the glowing west with marvellous power 5 Salute us; there stood Indian citadel,
Temple of Greece, and minster with its tower Substantially expressed-a place for bell Or clock to toll from! Many a tempting isle, With groves that never were imagined, lay 10 'Mid seas how steadfast! objects all for the eye Of silent rapture; but we felt the while We should forget them; they are of the sky, And from our earthly memory fade away. Oct. 4, 1802.
And from our earthly memory fade away.”
THOSE words were uttered as in pensive mood We turned, departing from that solemn sight: A contrast and reproach to gross delight, And life's unspiritual pleasures daily wooed! But now upon this thought I cannot brood; 5 It is unstable as a dream of night;
Nor will I praise a cloud, however bright, Disparaging Man's gifts, and proper food. Grove, isle, with every shape of sky-built dome, Though clad in colours beautiful and pure, 10 Find in the heart of man no natural home: The immortal Mind craves objects that endure: These cleave to it; from these it cannot roam, Nor they from it: their fellowship is secure. 1806. (?)
WHILE not a leaf seems faded; while the fields, With ripening harvest prodigally fair,
In brightest sunshine bask; this nipping air, Sent from some distant clime where Winter
His icy scimitar, a foretaste yields
Of bitter change, and bids the flowers beware; And whispers to the silent birds, "Prepare Against the threatening foe your trustiest shields."
For me, who under kindlier laws belong To Nature's tuneful quire, this rustling dry 10 Through leaves yet green, and yon crystalline
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