Poems (Osgood)/Happiness Lost and Found
HAPPINESS LOST AND FOUND.
Our cot was in a forest glade,
Where sunbeams stole to mock the shade,
And wild-flowers round the lattice play'd,
By beam and breeze caress'd:
And in our Mary's form and face
Was all the blossom's glowing grace;
A lovely human flower was she;
Nay, more a bird in tireless glee,
The darling of the nest:
She came an orphan to our wild;
But fondly on her kinsman's child
My mother her true welcome smiled,
And so our home was blest.
Where sunbeams stole to mock the shade,
And wild-flowers round the lattice play'd,
By beam and breeze caress'd:
And in our Mary's form and face
Was all the blossom's glowing grace;
A lovely human flower was she;
Nay, more a bird in tireless glee,
The darling of the nest:
She came an orphan to our wild;
But fondly on her kinsman's child
My mother her true welcome smiled,
And so our home was blest.
Yet I, alas! unconscious then
How rich within our woodland glen
Were we, afar from world-worn men,
For gaudier pleasures pined:
For I had seen, in dreams at night,
A being lovely as the light,
With eyes like heaven, of changeful blue,
And hair that gleams of gold stole through,
And lips in dimples shrined.
Her name was Happiness, she said;
And soon by blind Ambition led,
I left our lowly love-warm'd shed,
To seek this maiden kind.
How rich within our woodland glen
Were we, afar from world-worn men,
For gaudier pleasures pined:
For I had seen, in dreams at night,
A being lovely as the light,
With eyes like heaven, of changeful blue,
And hair that gleams of gold stole through,
And lips in dimples shrined.
Her name was Happiness, she said;
And soon by blind Ambition led,
I left our lowly love-warm'd shed,
To seek this maiden kind.
I sought her far—I sought her wide—
I sought her in the halls of pride;
Her angel smile was still denied,
Where gems less lovely shone.
I ask'd of Fame her fairest crown:—
With mocking laugh she cast it down.
No spell was in the wreath, tho' fair,
To win the maid with golden hair;
And I was all alone.
I ask'd of Wealth his coffers' key:
He smiled, and flung them wide to me,
The glittering treasure, far and free,
I lavish'd.—Soon 'twas flown.
I sought her in the halls of pride;
Her angel smile was still denied,
Where gems less lovely shone.
I ask'd of Fame her fairest crown:—
With mocking laugh she cast it down.
No spell was in the wreath, tho' fair,
To win the maid with golden hair;
And I was all alone.
I ask'd of Wealth his coffers' key:
He smiled, and flung them wide to me,
The glittering treasure, far and free,
I lavish'd.—Soon 'twas flown.
It bought me rank;—it bought me power;—
It bought me Pleasure's fleeting flower,
And many a plaything of an hour:
Ah, me! 'twas little worth!
It could not buy that being fair,
The vision with the shining hair;
No! far from me her low sweet lay
Young Joy was warbling all the day,
While! o'er half the earth
Went wandering for her looks of light.
At length I wearied of the sight
Of palace-halls. I dream'd one night
Of her who gave me birth.
It bought me Pleasure's fleeting flower,
And many a plaything of an hour:
Ah, me! 'twas little worth!
It could not buy that being fair,
The vision with the shining hair;
No! far from me her low sweet lay
Young Joy was warbling all the day,
While! o'er half the earth
Went wandering for her looks of light.
At length I wearied of the sight
Of palace-halls. I dream'd one night
Of her who gave me birth.
And coldly on the morrow-morn,
With sorrow in my soul and scorn,
I sought the glen where I was born,—
How holy seem'd the air!
The wild-flower with its early glow
Still lightly laced the lattice low;
Still sang the rill;—the forest trees
Bent as of old beneath the breeze,
And all was free and fair.
The Zephyr with its breath of balm,
The sunshine smiling soft and calm,
Wrought in my very heart a charm,
And made it Summer there.
With sorrow in my soul and scorn,
I sought the glen where I was born,—
How holy seem'd the air!
The wild-flower with its early glow
Still lightly laced the lattice low;
Still sang the rill;—the forest trees
Bent as of old beneath the breeze,
And all was free and fair.
The Zephyr with its breath of balm,
The sunshine smiling soft and calm,
Wrought in my very heart a charm,
And made it Summer there.
Some dreamy moments pass'd before
My trembling hand unlatch'd the door,
And I beneath that roof once more
Stood silent with delight.
My mother welcomed back her boy;
My bashful Mary blush'd her joy;
And folding to my heart the prize
That now seem'd dearest in mine eyes,
And loveliest and most bright,
I saw again the vision fair,
The maiden with the radiant hair;
For Joy and I had parted there,
As there we met that night!
My trembling hand unlatch'd the door,
And I beneath that roof once more
Stood silent with delight.
My mother welcomed back her boy;
My bashful Mary blush'd her joy;
And folding to my heart the prize
That now seem'd dearest in mine eyes,
And loveliest and most bright,
I saw again the vision fair,
The maiden with the radiant hair;
For Joy and I had parted there,
As there we met that night!
Ah! many a youth will search like me,
Will roam the land and cross the sea
In quest of Happiness, while she
Sits all the while unseen
Beside the very hearth he leaves,
And there her golden web she weaves,
Perchance array'd in lowly guise,
But still with heaven-illumined eyes,
And frank and smiling mien.
We fondest prize the gem we miss;
We pine for absent friendships kiss;
We know not, till we lose, the bliss
That dwells at home serene.
Will roam the land and cross the sea
In quest of Happiness, while she
Sits all the while unseen
Beside the very hearth he leaves,
And there her golden web she weaves,
Perchance array'd in lowly guise,
But still with heaven-illumined eyes,
And frank and smiling mien.
We fondest prize the gem we miss;
We pine for absent friendships kiss;
We know not, till we lose, the bliss
That dwells at home serene.