MY friendly fire, thou blazest clear and bright, Nor smoke nor ashes soil thy grateful flame; Thy temperate splendour cheers the gloom of night, Thy genial heat enlivens the chill'd frame. I love to muse me o'er the evening hearth, I love to pause in meditation's sway; And whilst each object gives reflection birth, Mark thy brisk rise, and see thy slow decay: And I would wish, like thee, to shine serene, Like thee, within mine influence, all to cheer; And wish at last, in life's declining scene, As I had beam'd as bright, to fade as clear: So might my children ponder o'er my shrine, And o'er my ashes muse, as I will muse o'er thine. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HIGH FLIGHT by JOHN GILLESPIE MAGEE JR. THE WOODSPURGE by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI COME UP FROM THE FIELDS FATHER by WALT WHITMAN LINES COMPOSED AT GRASMERE by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH THE ZONE OF VENUS by ANTIPHANES A VERMONT BOOTMAKER by DANIEL LEAVENS CADY TOWARDS DEMOCRACY: PART 2. I COME FORTH FROM THE DARKNESS by EDWARD CARPENTER |