O THOU most holy Friendship! wheresoe'er Thy dwelling be -- for in the courts of man But seldom thine all-heavenly voice we hear, Sweet'ning the moments of our narrow span; And seldom thy bright foot-steps do we scan Along the weary waste of life unblest, For faithless is its frail and wayward plan, And perfidy is man's eternal guest, With dark suspicion link'd and shameless interest! -- 'T is thine, when life has reach'd its final goal, Ere the last sigh that frees the mind be giv'n, To speak sweet solace to the parting soul, And pave the bitter path that leads to heav'n: 'T is thine, whene'er the heart is rack'd and riv'n By the hot shafts of baleful calumny, When the dark spirit to despair is driv'n, To teach its lonely grief to lean on thee, And pour within thine ear the tale of misery. But where art thou, thou comet of an age, Thou phoenix of a century? Perchance Thou art but of those fables which engage And hold the minds of men in giddy trance. Yet, be it so, and be it all romance, The thought of thine existence is so bright With beautiful imaginings -- the glance Upon thy fancied being such delight, That I will deem thee Truth, so lovely is thy might! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...METRICAL FEET by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE SONGS ON THE VOICES OF BIRDS; SEA-MEWS IN WINTER TIME by JEAN INGELOW TO A CHILD OF QUALITY, FIVE YEARS OLD. THE AUTHOR THAN FORTY by MATTHEW PRIOR NUPTIAL SLEEP by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI THE WOODSPURGE by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI SONNET PREFIXED TO 'NENNIO, OR A TREATISE OF NOBILITY' by EDMUND SPENSER THE TRUIMPH OF ART by JOSEPHINE TURCK BAKER PSALM 68 by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE HINC LACHRIMAE; OR THE AUTHOR TO AURORA: 35 by WILLIAM BOSWORTH |