Charlotte Smith

Here you will find thePoemVerses IVof poet Charlotte Smith

Verses IV

On the Death of the same Lady, written in Sept. 1794. LIKE a poor ghost the night I seek; Its hollow winds repeat my sighs; The cold dews mingle on my cheek With tears that wander from mine eyes. The thorns that still my couch molest, Have robb'd these heavy eyes of sleep; But though deprived of tranquil rest, I here at last am free to weep. Twelve times the moon, that rises red O'er yon tall wood of shadowy pine, Has fill'd her orb, since low was laid My Harriet! that sweet form of thine! While each sad month, as slow it pass'd, Brought some new sorrow to deplore; Some grief more poignant than the last, But thou canst calm those griefs no more. No more thy friendship soothes to rest This wearied spirit tempest-toss'd; The cares that weigh upon my breast Are doubly felt since thou art lost. Bright visions of ideal grace That the young poet's dreams inflame, Were not more lovely than thy face; Were not more perfect than thy frame. Wit, that no sufferings could impair, Was thine, and thine those mental powers Of force to chase the fiends that tear From Fancy's hands her budding flowers. O'er what, my angel friend, thou wert, Dejected Memory loves to mourn; Regretting still that tender heart, Now withering in a distant urn. But ere that wood of shadowy pine Twelve times shall yon full orb behold, This sickening heart, that bleeds for thine, My Harriet!--may like thine be cold!