Poems of Felicia Hemans in The Literary Souvenir, 1828/Psyche borne by Zephyrs to the Island of Pleasure
PSYCHE Painted by John WoodEngraved by F. Engleheart |
PSYCHE BORNE BY ZEPHYRS TO THE ISLAND OF PLEASURE.
I.
Fearfully and mournfully
Thou bid'st the earth farewell,
And yet thou'rt passing, loveliest one!
In a brighter land to dwell.
II.
Ascend, ascend rejoicing!
The sunshine of that shore
Around thee, as a glorious robe,
Shall stream for evermore.
III.
The breezy music wandering
There through the' Elysian sky,
Hath no deep tone that seems to float
From a happier time gone by:
IV.
And there the day's last crimson
Gives no sad memories birth;
No thought of dead or distant friends,
Or partings—as on earth.
V.
Yet fearfully and mournfully
Thou bid'st that earth farewell,
Altho' thou 'rt passing, loveliest one!
In a brighter land to dwell.
VI.
A land where all is deathless—
The sunny wave's repose,
The wood, with its rich melodies,
The summer and its rose.
VII.
A land that sees no parting,
That hears no sound of sighs,
That waits thee with immortal air—
Lift, lift those anxious eyes!
VIII.
Oh! how like thee, thou trembler!
Man's spirit fondly clings,
With timid love, to this, its world
Of old familiar things!
IX.
We pant, we thirst for fountains
That gush not here below;
On, on we toil, allured by dreams
Of the living water's flow:
X.
We pine for kindred natures,
To mingle with our own;
For communings more full and high
Than aught by mortal known:
XI.
We strive with brief aspirings
Against our bounds in vain;
Yet summoned to be free at last,
We shrink—and clasp our chain!
XII.
And fearfully and mournfully
We bid the earth farewell,
Tho' passing from its mists, like thee,
In a brighter world to dwell.