VERSES.
87
May the soft rays of dawning hope impart
Reviving patience to my fainting heart;—
And when its sharp solicitudes shall cease,
May I be conscious in the realms of peace
That every tear which swells my children's eyes,
From sorrows past, not present ills arise,
Then, with some friend who loves to share your pain,
For 'tis my boast that some such friends remain,
By filial grief, and fond remembrance prest,
You'll seek the spot where all my sorrows rest;
Recall my hapless days in sad review,
The long calamities I bore for you,
And—with an happier fate—resolve to prove
How well you merited—your mother's love.
