Poems (Betham)/Reflections occasioned by the Death of Friends

by Matilda Betham

REFLECTIONS Occasioned by THE DEATH OF FRIENDS. 

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My happiness was once a goodly tree,
 Which promis'd every day to grow more fair,
 And rear'd its lofty branches in the air,
In sooth, it was a pleasant sight, to see!
Amidst, fair honey-suckles crept along,
 Twin'd round the bark, and hung from every bough,
While birds, which Fancy held by slender strings,
Plum'd the dark azure of their shining wings,
 Or dipp'd them in the silver stream below,
With many a joyful note, and many a song!

When lo! a tempest hurtles in the sky!
 Dark low'r the clouds! the thunders burst around!
Fiercely the arrowy flakes of lightning fly!
 While the scar'd songsters leave the quiv'ring bough,
 The blasted honey-suckles droop below,
And many noble branches strew the ground!

Though soon the air is calm, the sky serene,
 Though wide the broad and leafy arms are spread,
Yet still the scars of recent wounds are seen
 Their shelter henceforth seems but insecure;
 The winged tribes disdain the frequent lure,
Where many a songster lies benumb'd or dead;
And when I would the flow'ry tendrils train,
I find my late delightful labour vain.

Affection thus, once light of heart, and gay,
 Chasten'd by memory, and, unnerv'd by fear,
 Shall sadden each endearment with a tear,
Sorrowing the offices of love shall pay,
And scarcely dare to think that good her own,
 Which fate's imperious hand may snatch away,
 In the warm sunshine of meridian day,
And when her hopes are full and fairest blown.