IF, when the Spirit quits her clay-built cell,
With incorporeal essences to dwell,
Attachments form’d on earth their force retain,
And with increasing ardour still remain;
What raptures must posses the virtuous mind,
(Virtue alone those joys can hope to find)
To meet in worlds of never-ending bliss,
All whom we lov’d, esteem’d, rever’d in this.
The long-lost Child shall glad the Parents’ sight,
Deck’d in refulgent robes of spotless light;
Children with grateful smiles their Parents greet,
Who fled before them to the blissful seat.
They whom th’ untimely stroke of Death disjoin’d,
The faithful Pair, by sacred vows combin’d;
Met in the realms of happiness, shall prove
The true delights of pure celestial love.
But when two hearts whom tender Friendship sways,
On virtue founded in their earliest days;
(Union which sympathy of soul endears,
Its strength maturing with increasing years)
Who ne’er could wish one pleasure to conceal,
Nor knew one grief but Friendship’s balm could heal;
Sincerely anxious for each other’s good,
By mutual counsel, sweet reproof they stood:
When two such Spirits wing their airy way,
And reach the bright abodes of endless day;
Enraptur’d, each the dear-lov’d friend shall view,
And ardently the solemn league renew;
Ecstatic transports feel, without alloy,
Sublimest friendship height’ning ev’ry joy;
They part no more, nor change their glorious state,
Completely blest beyond the power of Fate.
Should we not form such friendships here below,
As only can survive the destin’d blow?
Since Vice, though leagu’d, her trust shall soon betray,
And Folly’s airy vows flee swift away;
Whilst virtuous Union scorns th’ attacks of Time,
And hopes to flourish in a nobler clime;
Of never-fading happiness possest,
In heav’nly mansions of eternal rest.
(Elizabeth Bentley)
More Poetry from Elizabeth Bentley:
Elizabeth Bentley Poems based on Topics: Mind, Joy & Excitement, Soul, Friendship, Love, Happiness, Light, Death & Dying, Sense & Perception, Vice & Virtue, Parents- The Prodigal Son (Elizabeth Bentley Poems)
- On The Abolition Of The African Slave-Trade (Elizabeth Bentley Poems)
- Ode To Melancholy (Elizabeth Bentley Poems)
- Ode To Summer (Elizabeth Bentley Poems)
- The Virtues. An Ode. (Elizabeth Bentley Poems)
- On The Return Of Peace And Plenty (Elizabeth Bentley Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Love Poems, Light Poems, Mind Poems, Time Poems, Death & Dying Poems, Soul Poems, Joy & Excitement Poems, Sense & Perception Poems, Friendship Poems, Happiness Poems, Fate & Destiny PoemsBased on Keywords: maturing, sublimest, never-fading, rever, ardently, enraptur, disjoin, dear-lov, incorporeal, attachments, posses
- The Hind And The Panther, A Poem In Three Parts : Part I. (John Henry Dryden Poems)
- The Tragedy of White Injustice (Marcus Mosiah Garvey Poems)
- Resignation Pt 1 (Edward Young Poems)
- The Minstrel; Or, The Progress Of Genius : Book I. (James Beattie Poems)
- A Poem On The African Slave Trade. Addressed To Her Own Sex. Part II (Mary Birkett Card Poems)