English

Death, where art thou, that a grave
Freely givest unto all?
I now woo thee,
And in this great sorrow have
That thou hearest not my call
Who cry to thee.
For since, anguish-vexed, my soul,
By my grief and sadness smitten,
Is to joy dead,
Rent in pieces be the scroll
Whereon all my days are written,

When Christ was born of Virgin blest
All the Earth
Felt and marvelled at His birth,
The host of angels then,
Lo, a new glory sings,
And victory the three kings
For the souls of men.
To great lands East and West
Then in mirth
Travelled the tidings of our Saviour's birth.

How comely the maiden,
How lovely and fair!
Now tell me, thou sailor,
Who hast lived on the sea,
If ship, sail or star
Is fair as she.

And tell me, thou knight,
Wont in arms to be,
If steed, arms or war
Is fair as she.

And thou, shepherd-boy,
As thou keepest thy sheep,
If flock, hill or valley
Is fair as she.

AN ODE .

What active pow'r is this within,
That struggles to arise,
In search of never-ending bliss,
Above yon sparkling skies?

'Tis Christian Hope, by Faith impell'd
Sustain'd by heav'nly Grace,
That animates my mournful soul,
And shews the Saviour's face.

Faith throws yon azure skreen aside,
And gives a glimpse of Heav'n;

Morpheus had clos'd my wearied eyes to rest,
And sleep oblivious o'er my senses stole;
When the fell nightmare pillow'd on my breast,
And rais'd such phantoms as possess'd me whole.

Methought I saw a ruthless tyrant weep,
Whose groans so horrid ev'ry feeling shook;
" Guard me, " he cry'd, " ye angels round me keep,
" Controul the fiends, that 'vengeful on me look. "

A beauteous seraph clad in spotless white,

Sing no more, for love of me,
Sirens, sing no more, I pray,
For my fiercest enemy,
Even Spring, is come this way,
And Love in his company.
Here no more may I delay;
But for you still shall the sea
From the heat a refuge be
If your wish be here to stay.

The night is still,
The white stars listen,
As over the seaward hill
Slowly rolls, rolls
The deep, foam-muffled thunder
Of the everlasting sea,
Flooding my soul
With speechless wonder.
— Even the sheltered bay is a-thrill
With the mystery
Of ocean breathing to rest
Along the shore.

Woman of mine, who came to me
Out of the everlasting sea,
Through lonely grief and horror of war,
Forsaking all you loved, to find
In sacrifice Love's victory:
Comrade of mine whose little foot

Now the sound in spring's glad hours
Of thronging bees my ear embraces,
That throughout the flowered spaces
Rifle all the fairest flowers.
See how laden now doth stand
Our friendly corn in all the land,
That in spite of every wind
Fills with joy the peasant's mind:
None are from my friendship banned.
And the sun sunk till this hour
From yon verge now goeth forth
And returns towards the north
In this time of sun and shower;
So that I come all aflower
And in power,
Against January's will,

Welcome to our longing sight,
Lovely Spring! with true delight,
We behold thy blissful charms,
Which the chearing sunshine warms,
Soft'ning breezes, length'ning days,
Vivid Light's more glorious rays;
Rising verdure, early flow'rs,
Op'ning in the fragrant bow'rs:
Spring ! those pleasing gifts are thine:
Now the fields with daisies shine—
Now the mossy banks display
Vi'lets smiling in the day,
Primroses, and cowslips, there,
Give fresh odours to the air:
See, for thee the wild-rose blooms,

The winds to me obedient
I keep: all cold and tempest shocks
Follow me and are my flocks;
Scourge of every element
Am I, master of the moon;
Frost and ice obey my call
That am the high admiral
Of ships with which the sea is strewn.
Though my look your mind estranges
As if I a ruffian were,
I can fill with black the air
And with white the mountain-ranges.
All the pleasant shade I strip
From beneath the chestnut-trees,
And the hermits, as I please,
To their lairs like foxes skip.