Sun! stay thy course, this moment stay— Suspend the o'er flowing tide of day, Divulge not such a love as mine, Ah! hide the mystery divine; Lest man, who deems my glory shame, Should learn the secret of my flame. | O night! propitious to my views, Thy sable awning wide diffuse; Conceal alike my joy and pain, Nor draw thy curtain back again, Though morning, by the tears she shows, Seems to participate my woes. | Ye stars! whose faint and feeble fires Express my languishing desires, Whose slender beams pervade the skies, As silent as my secret sighs, Those emanations of a soul, That darts her fires beyond the Pole; | Your rays, that scarce assist the sight, That pierce, but not displace the night; That shine indeed, but nothing shew Of all those various scenes below, Bring no disturbance, rather prove Incentives to a sacred love. | Thou moon! whose never–failing course Bespeaks a providential force, Go, tell the tidings of my flame To Him who calls the stars by name; Whose absence kills, whose presence cheers; Who blots, or brightens, all my years. | While, in the blue abyss of space, Thine orb performs its rapid race; Still whisper in his listening ears The language of my sighs and tears; Tell him, I seek him, far below, Lost in a wilderness of woe. | Ye thought–composing, silent hours, Diffusing peace o'er all my powers; Friends of the pensive, who conceal, In darkest shades, the flames I feel; To you I trust, and safely may, The love that wastes my strength away. | In sylvan scenes and caverns rude, I taste the sweets of solitude; Retired indeed, but not alone, I share them with a spouse unknown, Who hides me here from envious eyes, From all intrusion and surprise. | Imbowering shades and dens profound! Where echo rolls the voice around; Mountains! whose elevated heads A moist and misty veil o'erspreads; Disclose a solitary bride To him I love—to none beside. | Ye rills, that, murmuring all the way, Among the polished pebbles stray; Creep silently along the ground, Lest, drawn by that harmonious sound, Some wanderer, whom I would not meet, Should stumble on my loved retreat. | Enamelled meads, and hillocks green, And streams that water all the scene, Ye torrents, loud in distant ears, Ye fountains, that receive my tears, Ah! still conceal, with caution due, A charge I trust with none but you! | If, when my pain and grief increase I seem to enjoy the sweetest peace, It is because I find so fair, The charming object of my care, That I can sport and pleasure make Of torment suffered for his sake. | Ye meads and groves, unconscious things! Ye know not whence my pleasure springs; Ye know not, and ye cannot know, The source from which my sorrows flow: The dear sole cause of all I feel,— He knows, and understands them well. | Ye deserts, where the wild beasts rove, Scenes sacred to my hours of love; Ye forests, in whose shades I stray, Benighted under burning day; Ah! whisper not how blest am I, Nor while I live, nor when I die. | Ye lambs, who sport beneath these shades, And bound along the mossy glades; Be taught a salutary fear, And cease to bleat when I am near: The wolf may hear your harmless cry, Whom ye should dread as much as I. | How calm, amid these scenes, my mind; How perfect is the peace I find! Oh hush, be still, my every part, My tongue, my pulse, my beating heart! That love, aspiring to its cause, May suffer not a moment's pause. | Ye swift–finned nations, that abide In seas, as fathomless as wide; And, unsuspicious of a snare, Pursue at large your pleasures there; Poor sportive fools! how soon does man Your heedless ignorance trepan. | Away! dive deep into the brine, Where never yet sunk plummet line; Trust me, the vast leviathan Is merciful, compared with man; Avoid his arts, forsake the beach, And never play within his reach. | My soul her bondage ill endures; I pant for liberty like yours; I long for that immense profound, That knows no bottom and no bound: Lost in infinity, to prove The incomprehensible of love. | Ye birds, that lessen as ye fly, And vanish in the distant sky; To whom yon airy waste belongs, Resounding with your cheerful songs; Haste to escape from human sight; Fear less the vulture and the kite. | How blest and how secure am I, When, quitting earth, I soar on high; When lost, like you I disappear, And float in a sublimer sphere; Whence falling, within human view, I am ensnared and caught like you! | Omniscient God, whose notice deigns, To try the heart and search the reins, Compassionate the numerous woes, I dare not, e'en to thee, disclose; O save me from the cruel hands Of men who fear not thy commands! | Love, all–subduing and divine, Care for a creature truly thine; Reign in a heart, disposed to own No sovereign but thyself alone; Cherish a bride who cannot rove, Nor quit thee for a meaner love! | |