Gustavus Vasa - and other poems by William Sidney Walker
page 134 of 187 (71%)
page 134 of 187 (71%)
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And he whose morn seem'd wrapp'd in cloudy night,
Shall see his evening glow with placid light. Thro' calm prosperity's serenest sky The approaching gales of adverse fortune sigh; And when Affliction whets her keenest dart, And hurls it, flaming, at the shrinking heart, Celestial Hope with golden wing attends, Heals every wound, and every toil befriends: The horrors vanish; gleams of light divine Illume the cloud, and thro' its openings shine; As the bow, herald of ethereal peace, Smiles thro' the storm, and makes the tempest please. "To sway the whirlwind, gathering clouds control, Arrest the sun, or shake with storms the pole, Heaven gives to none:--nor have the mightiest power To stop the current of one changeful hour: Resistless Fate with even course proceeds, And o'er their levell'd pomp her thundering chariot leads. But all can solace their afflicted mind With temperate wishes, and a will resign'd, Can cheer the sad, improve the prosperous hour, With meek Humility, and Virtue's power: With these, terrestrial pleasures never cloy, And fear is lost in peace, and sorrow turns to joy. "Yet oft' the brave resisting soul, like thee, At random borne across Life's wintery sea, When various tempests, with successive force, Still drive her devious from her destined course, |
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