To Mr. OPIE, On his having painted for me the picture of MRS. Twise. Hail to thy pencil! well its glowing art The OAK of our FATHERS. Alas for the Oak of our Fathers that stood It grew and it flourish'd' for many an age, And many a tempest wreak'd on it its rage, But when its strong branches were bent with the blast, It struck its roots deeper and flourish'd more fast. Its head tower'd high, and its branches spread round, For its roots were struck deep, and its heart it was sound; The bees o'er its honey-dew'd foliage play'd, And the beasts of the forest fed under its shade. The Oak of our Fathers to Freedom was dear, Its leaves were her crown, and its wood was her spear. Alas for the Oak of our Fathers that stood In its beauty, the glory and pride of the wood! There crept up an ivy and clung round the trunk, The foresters saw and they gather'd around, Its roots still were fast, and its heart still was sound; No longer the bees o'er its honey-dews play'd, The Oak has received its incurable wound They have loosened the roots, tho' the heart may be sound; What the travellers at distance green-flourishing see, Are the leaves of the ivy that ruined the tree. Alas for the Oak of our Fathers that stood In its beauty, the glory and pride of the wood! R. S. TO A FRIEND, Enquiring if I would live over my youth again. Do I regret the past? Nay William nay, not so! In the warm joyaunce of the summer sun The changeful April day. The uncertain ocean's wrath. Praise be to him who made me what I am, Other I would not be. Why is it pleasant then to sit and talk When in his own dear home The traveller rests at last, And tells how often in his wanderings The thought of those far off With no unmanly tears; Thro' what fair scenes his charmed feet have trod. And troubles now no more, His eyes most sparkle, and a readier joy No William no, I would not live again I would not be again The slave of hope and fear, I would not learn again The wisdom by Experience hardly taught. To me the past presents No object for regret ; To me the present gives All cause for full content ; |