POEMS.
7
Hark!—Some, whose pride this name offends,
My blunt confession blame,
And while beneath thy sway he bends,
Each terms thee, "Love of Fame."
I, [who where-ever rests mine eye,
In various forms thy power descry,
Employed mankind to bless;]
Despise such paltry shifts, and dare,
Kind Vanity, to Thee my prayer
And grateful verse address.
My blunt confession blame,
And while beneath thy sway he bends,
Each terms thee, "Love of Fame."
I, [who where-ever rests mine eye,
In various forms thy power descry,
Employed mankind to bless;]
Despise such paltry shifts, and dare,
Kind Vanity, to Thee my prayer
And grateful verse address.
The pliant form does Nature cramp
In rude unsightly cast?
Do withered features wear the stamp
Of many a winter past?
To limbs mis-shaped and wrinkled face
Thy magic glass can easy grace
And youthful bloom impart;
Crimson pale cheeks, blanch sallow hands,
And squinting eyes at thy commands
Love's brightest fires can dart.
In rude unsightly cast?
Do withered features wear the stamp
Of many a winter past?
To limbs mis-shaped and wrinkled face
Thy magic glass can easy grace
And youthful bloom impart;
Crimson pale cheeks, blanch sallow hands,
And squinting eyes at thy commands
Love's brightest fires can dart.
