HERE, stranger, rest thee! from the neighbouring towers Of Oxford, haply thou hast forced thy bark Up this strong stream, whose broken waters here Send pleasant murmurs to the listening sense: Rest thee beneath this hazel; its green boughs Afford a grateful shade, and to the eye Fair is its fruit: stranger! the seemly fruit Is worthless, all is hollowness within, For on the grave of Rosamund it grows! Young, lovely, and beloved, she fell seduced, And here retired to wear her wretched age In earnest prayer and bitter penitence, Despised and self-despising: think of her, Young man, and learn to reverence womankind! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BEAUTY OF NATURE by HENRY ALFORD TO MISS F. B. ON ASKING FOR MRS. BARBAULD'S LOVE AND TIME by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD NEWS OF THE WORLD: 3 by GEORGE BARKER ON THE DEATH OF HER BODY by JAMES KEIR BAXTER THE ROMANCE OF THE LILY by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES THWARTED UTTERANCE by WILLIAM ROSE BENET |