Poems (Taggart)/Lines on Reading the Poems of * * * *

by Cynthia Taggart

LINES COMPOSED 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,—

Illumed thine eye, and taught thy heart
The kind and sympathetic glow:
Benevolence sat there enthroned,
And Feeling wept for others' woe.

That bliss thou humbly didst desire,
To wipe the tear from every eye,
And breathe into the sufferer's ear
The sweet, consoling, cordial sigh.

For thou wert Kindness' loveliest child;
Benignity thy soul possessed,
And virtue's all-endearing charms
Glowed ardent in thy matchless breast.

That noble, generous mind has fled,
That form is cold as senseless clay;
Confined within a narrow bed
To wait the Resurrection day.