Poems (Hooper)/A Presentiment
A PRESENTIMENT.
Heart, take thy fill of pleasure! Hereafter cometh pain.Take now this gift of gladness, 'Twill ne'er be thine again.The springtime and the summer Shall brighten o'er the sea,This vision of their beauty Shall be unseen by thee.
The sun in golden splendor Shall flush the waves with light,The moonlight soft and tender Shall glorify the night.The waves with loving murmur Shall kiss the sleeping shore,Where thou shalt stand hereafter Ah, never—never more!
The tender kiss of summer Shall wake the buds to bloom, The gentle breath of summer Shall lend the breeze perfume;But sight, and sound, and sweetness, Upon this fairest shore,Are thine but for a season, And shall be thine no more.
I know not whence the mandate, Whose accents strange and deep,In solemn words of warning, Now o'er my spirit sweep.I know not whose the voices, Whose fiat soundeth stern,"Soon cometh thy departure, And never thy return."
Look out upon the landscape, And whisper, 'It is fair;"'Let parted lips and smiling Draw fragrance from the air:Heart, take thy fill of pleasure While summer sunsets burn;Soon cometh the departing, And never the return.