Poems (Taggart)/To a Once Frequented Retreat
TO A ONCE FREQUENTED RETREAT.1825.
Thou verdant vale of willows fair,O might I 'neath those boughs repair, At evening's tranquil hour,Or when the blushing morn sereneGlides o'er the azure crystal sheen,And lucid drops of pearl are seen Within thy fragrant bower.
There, ocean's distant murmurs low.And the clear, sparkling streamlet's flow The pleased attention greet;And on the verdant margin gayThe flowerets bloom in bright array,And o'er the leaves fond zephyrs play Æolian numbers sweet.
There Nature's lovely charms combine,And through the soul a thrill divine Of untold bliss inspire,—Inspire to reach yon azure plain,The seraph seats of glory gain,Where harps melodious pour the strain That spirits rapt admire.
And when the day's declining hourSucceeds with mild and pleasing power Of mellow light refined;When the charmed zephyr folds his wing,And the glad birds enamoured sing,Their vesper warblings sweetly bring Peace to the wearied mind.
Alas! the stream of Health no moreWill through life's languid currents pour Her mild and genial sway;Nor can the beauties of the plain,With all their balmy gifts, restrainThe agony of poignant pain,— The wastings of decay.
Health from that blooming bower was gone,When suppliant there I could but mourn That her reviving breathNo more would fan my aching brow,Nor hope within my breast allow,Nor fell, unyielding sickness bow Her gentle power beneath.
No more, on me. Earth's treasures shedTheir healing power; the balsam's fled From Nature's balmy breath;No more this wasted frame againTrips lightly o'er the flowery plain,But on the couch of withering pain Sinks in untimely death.