Zinzendorff and Other Poems/On the Death of a Lady at Havana, whither she went for her Health

Zinzendorff and Other Poems (1836)
by Lydia Huntley Sigourney
On the Death of a Lady at Havana, whither she went for her Health
4045243Zinzendorff and Other PoemsOn the Death of a Lady at Havana, whither she went for her Health1836Lydia Huntley Sigourney


ON THE DEATH OF A LADY AT HAVANA, WHITHER SHE WENT FOR HER HEALTH.


Ye say that with a smile she past
    Forth from her hallow'd bower,
That her dark eye strange brilliance cast,
    To gild the parting hour;
That on her cheek with radiance rare
    A kindling flush did burn,
Ye view'd it as the promise fair
    Of health and glad return.

In many a fond and friendly breast
    Did parting sorrows stir,
And many a lip with trembling blest
    That lovely voyager;
Light sped the white sail o'er the wave,
    And gathering to her side,
True hearts that strove to shield and save,
    Her every wish supplied.

And still upon that tossing sea,
    Her idol boy was near,
And tunefully his caroll'd glee
    Fell on a mother's ear;
And well his glance its joy exprest
    To watch the sea-bird's flight,
Or trace amid the billow's crest
    The phosphorescent light.

They sought that Isle, by beam and breeze,
    In changeless beauty drest,

Where the "world-seeking Genoese"
    Doth find a peaceful rest;
But there where Winter's tempest gloom
    Hath never dar'd to roll,
Where Nature's flowers profusely bloom,
    Went down that flower of soul.

And far within her native west
    Where glorious foliage waves,
And where in recent verdure drest,
    Are seen her kindred graves,
The memory of her cradle-sleep,
    Her childhood's glowing charms,
Her ripen'd virtues, rich and deep,
    Affection's tear embalms.

Yet let not mourning Love despair,
    Within these smitten shades,
The cypress wreath hath blossoms fair
    Of hope that never fades;
'Twas her's to bless the haunts of pain,
    To love the good and wise,
And lightly chasten'd, rise to gain
    The bliss that never dies.