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The Works of Jonathan Swift: Miscellaneous poems
The Works of Jonathan Swift Miscellaneous poems Author:Jonathan Swift Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Nought it contains is common or unclean, And once drawn up, is ne'er let down again . OCCASIONED BY SIR WILLIAM TEMPLE'S LATE ILLNESS AND RECOVERY. WR... more »ITTEN IN DECEMBER 1693. Strange to conceive, how the same objects strike At distant hours the mind with forms so like I Whether in time, Deduction's broken chain Meets, and salutes her sister link again ; Or hunted Fancy, by a circling flight, Comes back with joy to its own seat at night; Or whether dead Imagination's ghost Oft hovers where alive it haunted most; Or if Thought's rolling globe, her circle run, Turns up old objects to the soul her sun; Or loves the muse to walk with conscious pride O'er the glad scene whence first she rose a bride : Be what it will; late near yon whisp'ring stream, Where her own Temple was her darling theme 5 There first the visionary sound was heard, When to poetic view the Muse appear'd. Such seem'd her eyes, as when an evening ray Gives glad farewell to a tempestuous day; Weak is the beam to dry up nature's tears, Still ev'ry tree the pendent sorrow wears ; The allusion, I am afraid, is to the vision of St Paul in tht Acts of the Apostles. 46 .. ' ' .' randEMS. "": '. c .'. : . Such are the smiles where drops of crystal show Approaching joy at strife with parting woe. As when to scare th' ungrateful or the proud Tempests long frown, and thunder threatens loud, Till the blest sun to give kind dawn of grace Darts weeping beams across Heaven's wat'ry face ; When soon the peaceful bow unstring'd is shown, A sign God's dart is shot, and wrath o'erblown ; Such to unhallowed sight the Muse divine Might seem, when first she rais'd her eyes to mine. What mortal change does in thy face appear, Lost youth, she cried, since first I met thee her...« less