The poetical works of William Cowper Complete edition, with memoir, explanatory notes, &c .. . it still to die Deserted, and his friends so nigh. He long survives, who lives an hour In ocean, self-upheld:And so long he, with unspent power, His destiny repelld;And ever, as the minutes new,Entreated help, or cried— Adieu ! At length, his transient respite past,His comrades, who before Had heard his voice in every blast,Could catch the sound no more : MISCELLANEOUS POEMS. 467 For then, by toil subdued, he drankThe stifling wave, and then he sank. Ho poet wept him ; but the page Of narrative since
The poetical works of William Cowper Complete edition, with memoir, explanatory notes, &c .. . it still to die Deserted, and his friends so nigh. He long survives, who lives an hour In ocean, self-upheld:And so long he, with unspent power, His destiny repelld;And ever, as the minutes new,Entreated help, or cried— Adieu ! At length, his transient respite past,His comrades, who before Had heard his voice in every blast,Could catch the sound no more : MISCELLANEOUS POEMS. 467 For then, by toil subdued, he drankThe stifling wave, and then he sank. Ho poet wept him ; but the page Of narrative sincere,That tells his name, his worth, his age, Is wet with Ansons tear :And tears by bards or heroes shedAlike immortalise the dead. I therefore purpose not, or dream, Descanting on his fate,To give the melancholy theme A more enduring date :But misery still delights to traceIts semblance in anothers case. No voice divine the storm allayd, No light propitious shone,When, snatch?d from all effectual aid, We perishd, each alone :But I beneath a rougher sea,Vnd whelmd in deeper gulfs than he,. &xun8htxan8. TRANSLATION OF PSALM CXXXVII. To Babylons proud waters brought, In bondage where we lay,With tears on Sions Hill we thought, And sighed our hours away ;Neglected on the willows hungOur useless harps, while every tongue Bewailed the fatal day. Then did the base insulting foe Some joyous notes demand,Such as in Sion used to flow From Judahs happy band:Alas ! what joyous notes have we,Our country spoiled, no longer free, And in a foreign land ? O Solyma ! if eer thy praise Be silent in my song,Rude and unpleasing be the lays, And artless be my tongue !Thy name my fancy still employs ;To thee, great fountain of my joys, My sweetest airs belong. Remember, Lord ! that hostile sound,When Edoms children cried, Razed be her turrets to the ground,And humbled be her pride! Remember, Lord ! and let the foe The terrors of thy vengeance know,Thy vengeance they defied! Thou too, great Babylon,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1872
