Poems (Sewell)/On Wishes

by Mary Young Sewell

ON WISHES.

With еye unmoisten'd, and with rigid mien.
 Philosophy may boast its Stoic part,
But more enlighten'd Wisdom ne'er was seen
 To chill the virtuous feelings of the heart.

And who each soft emotion wou'd forego,
 Or lose the luxury of a tender thought,
For all that cold Indiff'rence can bestow—
 For all that pompous Learning ever taught?

Through busy Life, in all its changeful round,
 Some secret wish its empire will assume:
'Mid noisy Mirth, shall heave the sigh profound,
 And steal thro' Contemplation's thickest gloom.

E'en in that hour, when Death shall claim his prize,
 And Nature's tend'rest union shall invade,
And ev'n those softer, more endearing ties,
 By choice, by sympathy and virtue made!

In that dread hour, when summon'd to depart,
 Some trembling wish the spirit shall detain,
Some darling image still shall warm the heart,
 And strive to keep its precious hold in vain!

Thus the poor Miser, shipwreck'd and forlorn,
 Whilst grim destruction howls in ev'ry blast,
From Hope—from Life!—from years of comfort torn,
 Grasps his beloved treasure to the last!

Thus wretched Carlos, in the fatal scene,
 Decreed by fate and barb'rous Philip's pride,^[1]
Held the fair image of his much-lov'd queen,
 And view'd the dear resemblance till he died.

Ah! who shall say the scene is clos'd on earth,
 And Heav'n here marks its fav'rites by success,
When Guilt oft triumphs o'er ingenuous Worth,
 And Virtue oft must languish in distress?

Think not the wish that suff'ring Patience frames,
 Or ev'n that helpless Pity shall bestow,
Nor the loud wish that Gratitude proclaims,
 Or one benignant spark in vain shall glow.

The gen'rous wish, that Fortune here denies,
 The wish of true disinterested Love,
Shall mount like purer essence to the skies,
 And swell th' immortal Registers Above!

1. Don Carlos, son of Philip the Second, King of Spain, condemned to death by his father's jealousy.