Poems (Hooper)/A Presentiment

by Lucy Hamilton Hooper

A PRESENTIMENT.

Heart, take thy fill of pleasure!
 Hereafter cometh pain.
Take now this gift of gladness,
 'Twill ne'er be thine again.
The springtime and the summer
 Shall brighten o'er the sea,
This vision of their beauty
 Shall be unseen by thee.

The sun in golden splendor
 Shall flush the waves with light,
The moonlight soft and tender
 Shall glorify the night.
The waves with loving murmur
 Shall kiss the sleeping shore,
Where thou shalt stand hereafter
 Ah, never—never more!

The tender kiss of summer
 Shall wake the buds to bloom,
The gentle breath of summer
 Shall lend the breeze perfume;
But sight, and sound, and sweetness,
 Upon this fairest shore,
Are thine but for a season,
 And shall be thine no more.

I know not whence the mandate,
 Whose accents strange and deep,
In solemn words of warning,
 Now o'er my spirit sweep.
I know not whose the voices,
 Whose fiat soundeth stern,
"Soon cometh thy departure,
 And never thy return."

Look out upon the landscape,
 And whisper, 'It is fair;"'
Let parted lips and smiling
 Draw fragrance from the air:
Heart, take thy fill of pleasure
 While summer sunsets burn;
Soon cometh the departing,
 And never the return.