Classic Poem

Returned at length to solitude, and peace,
Once more my heart resumes its loved pursuits;
Once more I seek my lost, poetic ease,
And wander searching for Castalia's fruits.

But ah! in vain to me the nine refuse
Inspiring succour, and enkindling thought,
Too long alas! I have renounced the muse,
Her voice neglected, and her lyre forgot.

Lost in a crowd of folly and of noise,
With vain delight my bosom learned to beat,
Resigned the pleasures I had made my choice,
Of calm philosophy and wisdom sweet.

For, in the circles of the vain, and gay,
No more her tranquil state my soul enjoyed,
In busy idleness I passed the day,
And mirth and dress, and song my hours employed.

To fix the attention of admiring eyes,
To move with elegance, and talk with ease;
To be the object of the practised sigh,
To attract the notice, and the ear to please.

The empty flattery which my heart despised,
The present frenzy which the dance inspired,
Joys, which my reason never could have prized,
And which till tasted I had ne'er desired.

Yet these had charms, which now I blush to own,
Powers which I then believed not they possess'd;
The muse to banish from her humble throne,
Where she so oft had fired my glowing breast.

But the remembrance of these empty hours
Affords no single pleasure to my mind;
My soul regrets her lost collective powers,
And sighs once more her wonted calm to find;

For folly's influence do I still deplore,
A vacant gloom she o'er my heart hath spread;
The secret charm of solitude is o'er,
My thoughts are scattered, and the muses fled.

Such was the low ambition of my mind,
Such were the vain desires I formed,
For such delights my calmer joys resigned,
And quenched the fires which had my bosom warmed.