Literary Gazette 13th December 1823, Page 793-794
ORIGINAL POETRY.
POETIC SKETCHES.
Fourth Series.
SKETCH V.— THE ISLAND.
"Adieu, adieu, thou faithless world,
Thou ne’er wert made for me!"
A summer isle, one over which the wind
Hath ever pass'd in melody,—such airs
As are born in the rose's breast, and die
Like singing on the waters. There were lakes,
Some deep and blue, and clear as the bright sky
Mirror'd upon them; others, o'er whose waves
Floated the broad green pennons of the lily;
Some barks for Love, coloured with his own blush,
And others, white as fairy ships, for Hope,—
Ah, Love and Hope should ever go together!—
And in the valleys and beside the hills
(Hills where the landmark was one stately palm)
There grew ten thousand flowers, on whose leaves
Shone every hue that ever yet hath shone
In a king's diadem of Indian gems,
Or in the tints an autumn sunset throws
O'er the rich glaciers in the rainbow arch
Of the departing shower; and butterflies,
Each like a ruby, glistened round the stems;
And birds as brightly feathered, for each wing
Was like wrought tapestry of silk and gold.
