Meets me the friend I lov'd so well, And ne'er shall meet on mortal shore : Yet, there's a land, which ne'er was trod And soon life's journey measur'd o'er, That quiet, peaceful home, at last, TO HER INFANT SON, BORN AFTER HIS FATHER'S DEATH. WRITTEN IN 1820. Sleep on, sleep on, thou little stranger, Ere thy birth an orphan made, Usher'd into life and danger 'Neath affliction's deepest shade. A father's eye shall never meet thee A father's welcome ne'er shall greet thee, Death, that parent, friend, did sever Often now the burning tear From thy mother's eye is streaming, Thine, the while, serenely beaming, Not because high heav'n did pour On me alone that storm of sorrow; To me the long deferr'd to-morrow But a dang'rous sea thou'rt crossing; And, oh! what evils may betide thee? The following lines were added after the death of this child, in 1821. 'Tis over; past, for ever past, that sea Of tempest, snare, and storm, so late my dread. Shall ever harm thee more. Safe art thou lodg'd Oh! how I fear'd for thee! how truant thought, Would * ON THE DEATH OF AN INFANT SON. WRITTEN IN NOV. 1821.* Ah! where is he, with the eyes so blue, And the lofty brow, still serenely mild, Oh, spirit lov'd! who, like vision of light, Stole across my path, in that fearful night, When the storm was high, and thy sire far away, And smil'd through the darkness,-how short was thy stay? Like fleeting cloud, that by tempest is driven Athwart the stormy sky, Or dew-drop that's wept, at close of even, That cheek was fair; but 'tis deadly pale, And the cherish'd form, on this bosom that slept, Soon was finish'd thine errand to this distant shore, There's one heart shall forget thee, never; * Published in the Boston Recorder of Dec. 8, 1821. THE END. PRINTED BY A. BALFOUR & Co. |