Page:Poems Taggart.djvu/131

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83

LINESCOMPOSED ON READING THE POEMS OF * * * *.1829.
Friend of the unhappy! thou no more
Wilt mourn the fate of injured worth;
For thou hast reached the eternal shore,
And bid a last farewell to earth.

No more thou 'lt sing in gayest strains
The pleasures dearest to thine heart,—
The scenes that rapture and delight
To youth and innocence impart.

Though poverty's cold, barren lot
Thee to the humblest fate consigned,
Yet nought could damp that glowing heart,
Nor check the vigor of thy mind.

Thy genius bold, superior rose
To stern oppression's cruel force;
Unawed by adverse fortune's frown,
And vigorous in its daring course.

Temptations hovered thick around,
And urged thy youthful feet to stray;
But the Great Guardian of thy soul
Turned thee from their destructive way,—