And wilt thou, faithless one, then,
leave me,
With all thy magic phantasy,-
With all the thoughts that joy or grieve me,
Wilt thou with all forever fly?
Can naught delay thine onward motion,
Thou golden time of lifes young dream?
In vain! eternitys wide ocean
Ceaselessly drowns thy rolling stream.
The glorious suns my youth enchanting
Have set in never-ending night;
Those blest ideals now are wanting
That swelled my heart with
mad delight.
The offspring of my dream hath perished,
My faith in being passed away;
The godlike hopes that once I cherish
Are now realitys sad
prey.
As once Pygmalion, fondly yearning,
Embraced the statue formed
by him,
Till the cold marbles cheeks
were burning,
And life diffused through
every limb,
So I, with youthful passion fired,
My longing arms round Nature
threw,
Till, clinging to my breast inspired,
She gan to breathe,
to kindle too.
And all my fiery ardor proving,
Though mute, her tale she
soon could tell,
Returned each kiss I gave her loving,
The throbbings of my heart
read well.
Then living seemed each tree, each
flower,
Then sweetly sang the waterfall,
And een the soulless in that
hour
Shared in the heavenly bliss
of all.
For then a circling world was bursting
My bosoms narrow prison-cell,
To enter into being thirsting,
In deed, word, shape, and
sound as well.
This world, how wondrous great I
deemed it,
Ere yet its blossoms could
unfold!
When open, oh, how little seemed
it!
That little, oh, how mean
and cold!
How happy, winged by courage daring,
The youth lifes mazy
path first pressed-
No care his manly strength impairing,
And in his dreams sweet
vision blest!
The dimmest star in airs
dominion
Seemed not too distant for
his flight;
His young and ever-eager pinion
Soared far beyond all mortal
sight.
Thus joyously toward heaven ascending,
Was aught for his bright hopes
too far?
The airy guides his steps attending,
How danced they round lifes
radiant car!
Soft love was there, her guerdon
bearing,
And fortune, with her crown
of gold,
And fame, her starry chaplet wearing,
And truth, in majesty untold.
But while the goal was yet before
them,
The faithless guides began
to stray;
Impatience of their task came oer
them,
Then one by one they dropped
away.
Light-footed Fortune first retreating,
Then Wisdoms thirst
remained unstilled,
While heavy storms of doubt were
beating
Upon the path truths
radiance filled.
I saw Fames sacred wreath
adorning
The brows of an unworthy crew;
And, ah! how soon Loves happy
morning,
When spring had vanished,
vanished too!
More silent yet, and yet more weary,
Became the desert path I trod;
And even hope a glimmer dreary
Scarce cast upon the gloomy
road.
Of all that train, so bright with
gladness,
Oh, who is faithful to the
end?
Who now will seek to cheer my sadness,
And to the grave my steps
attend?
Thou, Friendship, of all guides
the fairest,
Who gently healest every wound;
Who all lifes heavy burdens
sharest,
Thou, whom I early sought
and found!
Employment too, thy loving neighbor,
Who quells the bosoms
rising storms;
Who neer grows weary of her
labor,
And neer destroys,
though slow she forms;
Who, though but grains of sand she
places
To swell eternity sublime,
Yet minutes, days, ay! years effaces
From the dread reckoning kept
by Time!
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