Poems on Various Subjects (Coleridge)/Effusion 32, The Sigh

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

EFFUSION XXXII.

THE SIGH.

WHEN Youth his faery reign began
Ere Sorrow had proclaim'd me man;
While Peace the present hour beguil'd,
And all the lovely Prospect smil'd;
Then, Mary! 'mid my lightsome glee
I heav'd the painless Sigh for thee!

And when, along the waves of woe,
My harass'd Heart was doom'd to know
The frantic Burst of Outrage keen,
And the slow Pang that gnaws unseen;
Then shipwreck'd on Life's stormy sea
I heav'd an anguish'd Sigh for thee!

But soon Reflection's power imprest
A stiller sadness on my breast;
And sickly Hope with waning eye
Was well content to droop and die:
I yielded to the stern decree,
Yet heav'd a languid Sigh for thee!

And tho' in distant climes to roam,
A Wanderer from my native home,
I fain would sooth the sense of Care
And lull to sleep the Joys, that were!
Thy Image may not banish'd be——
Still, Mary! still I sigh for thee.

JUNE, 1794.