Classic Poem

FOR HER VERSES WITH A WATER LILY, ON THE AUTHOR'S BIRTHDAY .

My stream of life has never roll'd
O'er beds of pearl, or sands of gold,
But oft its devious waves have run
Through chequer'd banks of shade and sun;
And still, where'er it chanc'd to glide,
Some honey'd blossom deck'd its side,
And Fancy, as it flow'd along,
Sweeten'd its murmurs with her song!
Too soon its midway course attain'd,
The sun was gone, the shade remain'd,
And Fancy's strain was heard no more
Upon its bleak and bloomless shore! —
And deign'st thou, pitying nightingale,
To raise amongst its willows pale
A song of more than halcyon pow'r,
To calm the storms that round it low'r?
Oh! yes, your Fancy can supply
Each note my Fancy would deny:
And that one Flow'r you gave to-day,
Though all its margent sweets decay,
That Lily floating down the stream
Shall make its ebbing waters seem
More precious far than if they roll'd
O'er beds of pearl and sands of gold!