Poems (McDonald)/Prosperity

by Mary Noel McDonald

PROSPERITY.

All seek thee—from the palace walls of state,
 To the low cottage where the poor man bides,
The sons of earth for unseen blessings wait,
 And ask, in each estate, some gift beside.
We trust to thee for happiness, and deem
 We shall know all of bliss in finding thee—
 Believe not, fortune's favours oft may be
As vague and shadowy as a midnight dream:
Ah! we should humbly bask beneath thy smile,
 For thou may'st prove a fatal boon when given
Under thy mask the tempter may beguile,
 Luring the soul from virtue and from heaven;
Thou hold'st a poisoned chalice to the lip,
Sweet to the taste, yet they may die who sip.