The Domestic Affections, and Other Poems/To Experience

by Felicia Hemans

TO EXPERIENCE.

Thou awful sage! with locks of snow,
With clouded mien and pensive brow;
Whose drooping form is bent with years,
Whose aged eye is dim with tears;
I court thee not, thou guide severe!
Ah! still avert thy frown austere!
For, oh! as winter blights the flow'rs,
Despoils the woodlands and the bow'rs;
So can thy chilling pow'r destroy
The dream of hope, the dream of joy.
Oh! let me ever fondly stray,
Thro' Fancy's bow'rs, thro' Fancy's way;
And if her fairy-visions bright,
Be but illusions of delight,
Oh! let me, still deceiv'd, be blest,
Lull'd, by her magic-song, to rest!

Ah! ne'er, Experience! let me learn
Thy sadd'ning tale, thy precept stern!
The rose upon thy cheek is dead,
The lustre from thine eye is fled;
Thy wither'd heart forgets to glow,
To dance with joy, to melt at woe;
Forgets to burn with glory's flame,
To thrill with love, to pant for fame.
Is life a scene of pain and care?
Is there no bright Elysium there?
Must Hope's enchanting scenes decay?
Will Fancy's rainbow fade away?
Shall pale Misfortune early blight
The op'ning roses of delight?
Then why, ah! why, so soon destroy,
The dreams of love, and youth, and joy?
Ah! ne'er, Experience! let me learn
Thy sadd'ning tale, thy precept stern!