THOU surely art rash, with thy pinions of gold,
To be flitting thus far from thy home in the bower;
Where erst thou wert wont, as the breezes grew cold,
To shelter thy head in some beautiful flower.
But where wilt thou rest on this ocean’s wide waste,
When thy delicate wing shall be wearied with flight;
And where wilt thou sleep, when the day-star thou lov’st
Has quench’d his bright beams in the shadows of night?
Already I see thee, with tremulous touch,
Essaying to rest on the waves as they flow,
Allur’d by the smoothness and brightness above,
But chill’d to the heart by the darkness below.
Ah! doubtless, some rude wind has chas’d thee from shore,
And borne thee unwilling thus far o’er the wave,
And, torn from thy kindred, has brought thee alone,
In the pitiless waters to find thee a grave.
Then farewell to thee, lost One,I leave thee a sigh:
But others will claim to divide it with thee:
There are many beside, whom adversity’s gale
Has ruthlessly driven far outward to sea.
In hopelessness sever’d from those they have lov’d,
The bleak world refuses to bear them a flower,
And the false beam of pleasure that falls on their path,
Though it shine on them brightly, can warm them no more.
Now here, and now there, they have vainly essay’d
To taste the delights they could relish of old,
And deceiv’d by the glittering promise of bliss,
Have rested a moment, but found it too cold.
Ah! happy indeed, if a merciful hand
In pity would waft them to that distant shore,
Where the tide of eternity rolling between,
The blight of remembrance could reach them no more.
(Caroline Fry)
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Based on Topics: Night Poems, Flowers Poems, Beauty Poems, Sleep Poems, Happiness Poems, Gold Poems, Eternity Poems, Pleasure PoemsBased on Keywords: ruthlessly, deceiv, smoothness, adversity, allur, hopelessness, chas, essaying