A friend of mine sent me a book of poetry as a birthday present, found this wonderful little poem in it by John Keats:<\/p>\n
When by my solitary hearth I sit,
\nAnd hateful thoughts enwrap my soul in gloom;
\nWhen no fair dreams before my “mind’s eye” flit,
\nAnd the bare heath of life presents no bloom;
\nSweet Hope, ethereal balm upon me shed,
\nAnd wave thy silver pinions o’er my head!<\/p>\nWhene’er I wander, at the fall of night,
\nWhere woven boughs shut out the moon’s bright ray,
\nShould sad Despondency my musings fright,
\nAnd frown, to drive fair Cheerfulness away,
\nPeep with the moonbeams through the leafy roof,
\nAnd keep that fiend Despondence far aloof!<\/p>\nShould Disappointment, parent of Despair,
\nStrive for her son to seize my careless heart;
\nWhen, like a cloud, he sits upon the air,
\nPreparing on his spell-bound prey to dart:
\nChase him away, sweet Hope, with visage bright,
\nAnd fright him as the morning frightens night!<\/p>\nWhene’er the fate of those I hold most dear
\nTells to my fearful breast a tale of sorrow,
\nO bright-eyed Hope, my morbidfancy cheer;
\nLet me awhile thy sweetest comforts borrow:
\nThy heaven-born radiance around me shed,
\nAnd wave thy silver pinions o’er my head!<\/p>\nShould e’er unhappy love my bosom pain,
\nFrom cruel parents, or relentless fair;
\nO let me think it is not quite in vain
\nTo sigh out sonnets to the midnight air!
\nSweet Hope, ethereal balm upon me shed,
\nAnd wave thy silver pinions o’er my head!<\/p>\nIn the long vista of the years to roll,
\nLet me not see our country’s honour fade:
\nO let me see our land retain her soul,
\nHer pride, her freedom; and not freedom’s shade.
\nFrom thy bright eyes unusual brightness shed
\nBeneath thy pinions canopy my head!<\/p>\nLet me not see the patriot’s high bequest,
\nGreat Liberty! how great in plain attire!
\nWith the base purple of a court oppress’d,
\nBowing her head, and ready to expire:
\nBut let me see thee stoop from heaven on wings
\nThat fill the skies with silver glitterings!<\/p>\nAnd as, in sparkling majesty, a star
\nGilds the bright summit of some gloomy cloud;
\nBrightening the half veil’d face of heaven afar:
\nSo, when dark thoughts my boding spirit shroud,
\nSweet Hope, celestial influence round me shed,
\nWaving thy silver pinions o’er my head!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A friend of mine sent me a book of poetry as a birthday present, found this wonderful little poem in it by John Keats: When by my solitary hearth I sit, And hateful thoughts enwrap my soul in gloom; When … Continue reading