Moral Pieces, in Prose and Verse/The Birth Day of a Young Lady, who had Recently Lost her Mother

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Moral Pieces, in Prose and Verse (1815)
by Lydia Sigourney

The Birth Day of a Young Lady, who had Recently Lost her Mother

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4011253Moral Pieces, in Prose and Verse — The Birth Day of a Young Lady, who had Recently Lost her Mother1815Lydia Sigourney

THE BIRTH DAY OF A YOUNG LADY, WHO HAD RECENTLY LOST HER MOTHER.

THIS op'ning year, this rising day,
    Of pensive thought, and grateful joy,
Might well for you awake the lay,
    And still a better lay employ.

Could I but pour the strain of praise,
    That sighs so soft on beauty's ear,
The tribute due to wit, and grace,
    How justly were they offer'd here.

But no, a rude, unpolish'd strain,
    Presumes the mental charm to trace,
And mark how virtue's youthful train
    May fill a parent's vacant place.

Mark how around that urn they glide,
    With beams like morning radiance clear:
That urn which drank the recent tide
    Of sad affection's filial tear.

To you, those younger plants shall spread.
    As round their fair maternal stem.

To you, shall raise the blooming head,
    And ope the fair, unfolding gem.

May each its future path explore,
    Like those pure streams which gently lave,
Unchecked, unstain'd, some verdant shore,
    And join in peace their parent wave.