The silence of that dreamless sleep I envy now too much to weep; That all those charms have pass'd away; The flower in ripen'd bloom unmatch'd And yet it were a greater grief To watch it withering, leaf by leaf, I know not if I could have borne The night that follows such a morn Thy day without a cloud hath pass'd, Extinguish'd, not decay'd; As stars that shoot along the sky Shine brightest as they fall from high. As once I wept, if I could weep, To gaze, how fondly! on thy face, Yet how much less it were to gain, The all of thine that cannot die Through dark and dread Eternity Returns again to me, And more thy buried love endears February, 1812. F sometimes in the haunts of men Thine image from my breast may fade, The lonely hour presents again The semblance of thy gentle shade: And now that sad and silent hour And sorrow unobserved may pour Oh, pardon that in crowds awhile I waste one thought I owe to thee, And self-condemn'd, appear to smile, Unfaithful to thy memory: Nor deem that memory less dear, I would not fools should overhear If not the goblet pass unquaff'd, From all her troubled visions free, For wert thou vanish'd from my mind, Where could my vacant bosom turn? And who would then remain behind To honour thine abandon'd Urn? No, no-it is my sorrow's pride That last dear duty to fulfil : Though all the world forget beside, 'Tis meet that I remember still. For well I know, that such had been A blessing never meant for me; March 14, 1812. SEVANS |