Fugitive Poetry. 1600–1878/Moral Reflections on Autumn

Moral Reflections on Autumn.

Sweet Sabbath of the year, While evening lights decay,Thy parting steps methinks I hear Steal from the world away.

Amid thy silent bowers 'Tis sad, but sweet, to dwell,Where falling leaves and drooping flowers Around me breathe farewell.

Along thy sunset skies Their glories melt in shade,And like the things we fondly prize, Seem lovelier as they fade.

A deep and crimson streak Thy dying leaves disclose;As, on consumption's waning cheek, 'Mid ruin, blooms the rose.

Thy scene each vision brings, Of beauty in decay;Of fair and early faded things, Too exquisite to stay;

Of joys that come no more; Of flowers whose bloom is fled;Of farewells wept upon the shore; Of friends estranged, or dead;

Of all that now may seem, To memory's tearful eye,The vanished beauty of a dream, O'er which we gaze and sigh.