Classic Poem

F LORIO , by all the Powers above,
" Plighted to me eternal love;
" And as a rose adorn'd my breast,
" He on its leaf the vow impress'd;
" But, while the winds did round us play,
" Vow, leaf, and promise blew away. "

For this, when summer mornings glow,
O! shall I veil their beams in woe?
And 'mid the rosy hours of youth,
Weep and repine o'er vanish'd truth?
No! let me hail the shining day,
Blithe as the lark, that meets its ray.

Beauty and Health have joys that prove
Balm for the wounds of slighted love;
And when a faithful lover gains
The heart, a false one now disdains,
Ungrateful Damon may deplore
What vain regret shall ne'er restore.

Celia to Florio then shall say,
" Vow, leaf, and promise, blew away; "
And to those winds I gave my grief,
That bore the love-recorded leaf;
Nor do I chide the gales, or thee,
Since thou art false — and I am free!

And, till return those hours of prime,
Borne on the onward stream of time;
Yes, till the spring restores to me
That very leaf inscribed by thee,
Scorning thy sighs, shall Celia say,
" Vow, leaf, and promise, blew away! "