Classic Poem

RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED TO ROBERT STRUTHERS,
ESQ

I.

A WAKE once more, my Harp, thy artless tones,
Though round me darkens deep the gloom of care,
And every wind is burden'd with the moans
Of dying hope, or agoniz'd despair.
And why? Because, dissolving into air,
Visions illusive vanish from the view —
And speculation's mountain blasted, bare,
Once more attests the voice of nature true,
No grandeur stands secure that rests not on the plough.

II.

How long shall man, by error's meteor gleam
Misled, the phantoms vain of joy pursue?
This hour be rous'd from the deceitful dream,
And toil the next th' illusion to renew?
To reason false, to folly only true;
Affliction wounds, experience warns in vain;
Life's darkening shores what dismal wrecks bestrew!
In its dark shades, dupes to their love of gain,
What countless swarms consign'd to poverty and pain.

III.

Of distant lands by commerce plunged in woe,
The historic muse need not be call'd to tell —
Our eyes have seen her dazzling splendours glow,
Our hearts have heaved beneath her powerful spell!
And has she not, by each succeeding swell,
Some joy, some virtue, buried in her wave?
Have not her triumphs rung the funeral knell
Of plain Simplicity, of Temperance grave,
With all the Virtues prompt a sinking land to save?

IV.

And at her hourly intermitting stream,
Whose flickering wave eludes the thirsty lip,
How many, in the oft renewed dream,
With broken pails, hope flowing draughts to dip.
And now and then if chance a little sip,
Some one more happy than his peers obtain,
To urge the desperate toil anew, they strip
Reckless of shame, of sorrow, or of pain,
Scorch'd with the quenchless heat, the ruthless rage for gain.

V.

Far from this maddening strife, this wretched toil
For ever frustrate, and for aye renew'd!
This feverish joy that hangs on fortune's smile!
These hopes by fear eternally subdued —
O bear me, Fancy, in thy milder mood,
And softly sooth me in thy woodland bower,
With heathflowers wild, and simple daisies strew'd
With fragrant birks enwreath'd — and, full in flower,
The breathing hawthorn bath'd in evening's gentle shower.

VI.

And in thy faithful mirror ever clear,
There let me mark the seasons gliding by —
The various labours of the circling year,
Whence kings themselves have all their rich supply
And far be Envy with her jaundiced eye
In saffron hues to shade the sylvan scene —
Nor Affectation breathe her mimic sigh —
Nor sentimental Folly's face be seen,
Where free and light of heart the rustic youth convene.

VII.

Woe was the time, from Eden's blissful bowers
When driven with cold and hunger to contend,
The hapless pair told o'er the guilty hours,
Assur'd that here their case could never mend.
But God in midst of judgment stood their friend,
Preserving strong amidst the mental waste,
Whence duty with delight might sweetly blend,
The sympathetic principle of taste,
That hears with joy the Spring, with joy the wintry blast.

VIII.

To Labour health, to Temperance peace of mind,
With their sweet handmaids blithe Content and Joy,
And Competence with Industry he join'd,
And high Refinement wrought with base alloy:
And gay Vicissitude he bade employ
Her active powers the lonely heart to cheer;
And, Care and Pain's fell purpose to destroy,
Gave Fortitude with giant strength to bear,
And Hope o'er all to spread her hues divinely fair.

IX.

Hence o'er the shining share who deigns to bend,
And turn with hands of iron the stubborn soil,
With noxious thorns, and thistles to contend,
Though heavens of brass appear to mock his toil —
His are the prayers, and his th' applauding smile
Of every age and sex the world around;
And free from avarice, free from squint-eyed Guile,
All lowly though his humble hut be found,
Sweet are his frugal meals, his nightly slumbers sound.

X.

And him the Arts, him all the Virtues hail,
That give to social life its balmy bloom;
Still vigorous, as his patient powers prevail,
The nobler thoughts their proper port assume.
And Mercy, Truth, and Justice bright relume
The Moral atmosphere, refined and clear;
And Learning's smile, and Piety's perfume,
Love's healing balm, and Pity's soothing tear,
Attendant all pursue his bright but calm career.