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<div style="background:#fff;border:#bbb dashed 1px;padding:5px"><a href="http://en.citatepedia.ro/comments.php?id=391687" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none"><div style="margin:10px 0"><strong>War And Peace—A Poem</strong></div><div style="margin:10px 0">THOU, bright Futurity! whose prospect beams,<br>In dawning radiance on our day-light dreams;<br>Whose lambent meteors and ethereal forms<br>Gild the dark clouds, and glitter thro' the storms;<br>On thy broad canvas fancy loves to trace,<br>Her brilliant Iris, drest in vivid grace;<br>Paints fair creations in celestial dyes,<br>Tints of the morn and blushes of the skies;<br>And bids her scenes perfection's robe assume,<br>The mingling flush of light, and life, and bloom.<br>Thou bright Futurity! whose morning-star<br>Still beams unveil'd, unclouded, from afar;<br>Whose lovely vista smiling Hope surveys,<br>Thro' the dim twilight of the silvery haze;</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Oh! let the muse expand her wing on high,<br>Thy shadowy realms, thy worlds unknown descry;<br>Let her clear eye-beam, flashing lucid light,<br>Chase from thy forms th' involving shades of night;<br>Pierce the dark clouds that veil thy noontide rays,<br>And soar, exulting, in meridian blaze!<br>In bliss, in grief, thy radiant scenes bestow,<br>The zest of rapture, or the balm of woe!<br>For, as the sun-flower to her idol turns,<br>Glows in his noon, and kindles as he burns;<br>Expands her bosom to th' exalting fire,<br>Lives but to gaze, and gazes to admire;<br>E'en so to thee, the mind incessant flies,<br>From thy pure source the fount of joy supplies;<br>And steals from thee the sunny light that throws<br>A brighter blush on pleasure's living rose!<br>To thee pale sorrow turns her eye of tears,<br>Lifts the dim curtain of unmeasur'd years;<br>And hails thy promis'd land, th' Elysian shore,<br>Where weeping virtue shall bewail no more!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Now, while the sounds of martial wrath assail,<br>While the red banner floats upon the gale;<br>While dark destruction, with his legion-bands,<br>Waves the bright sabre o'er devoted lands;<br>While war's dread comet flashes thro' the air,<br>And fainting nations tremble at the glare;<br>To thee, Futurity! from scenes like these,<br>Pale fancy turns, for heav'n-imparted ease;<br>Turns to behold, in thy unclouded skies,<br>The orb of peace in bright perspective rise;<br>And pour around, with joy-diffusing ray,<br>Life, light, and glory, in a flood of day!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Thou, whose lov'd presence and benignant smile<br>Has beam'd effulgence on this favour'd isle;<br>Thou! the fair seraph, in immortal state,<br>Thron'd on the rainbow, heaven's emblazon'd gate;<br>Thou! whose mild whispers in the summer-breeze<br>Control the storm, and undulate the seas;</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Spirit of mercy! oh! return, to bring<br>Palm in thy wreath, and 'healing on thy wing!'<br>Compose each passion to th' eternal will,<br>Say to the hurricane of war,— 'Be still!'<br>'Vengeance, expire! thy reign, ambition, cease!<br>Beam, light of heaven! triumphant star of peace!'</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Is this the muse's wild, illusive dream,<br>An airy picture, an ideal theme?<br>Shall death still ride victorious o'er the slain, <br>And his 'pale charges' desolate the plain?<br>Ne'er shall revenge her vulture-pinion fold,<br>Close her dark eye, her lightning-arm withhold?'</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Still must oppression cause th' eternal strife,<br>And breathe dire mildew o'er the blooms of life?<br>Must war still ravage with his car of fire,<br>And victim myriads in the blaze expire?</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Supernal Pow'r! on suffering earth look down,<br>Tyrannic might shall perish in thy frown!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Oh! deign to speed that blest, appointed time,<br>When peace and faith shall smile on ev'ry clime!<br>But first in clouds, the dark, eventful day<br>Of wrath, avenging wrath! must roll away!<br>Thy sword, oh, Justice! o'er the world must wave,<br>Ere mercy dawn, to triumph and to save!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Shades of the prophet-bards! majestic train,<br>Who seiz'd the harp from Inspiration's fane,<br>And, fir'd, and guided by divine control,<br>Woke ev'ry chord to rapture and to soul!<br>Shades of the prophet-bards! in days of old,<br>Whose gifted hands the leaf of fate unroll'd;<br>Whose prescient eyes, undimm'd by age or tears,<br>Explor'd the avenue of distant years;<br>Did those blest eyes th' enchanted scene survey,<br>Of smiling concord's universal sway?<br>And did your hearts with joy exulting burn,<br>To see her Paradise on earth return?</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Yes! hallow'd seers! to you the bliss was given,<br>To read, unveil'd, the dread decrees of heaven!<br>You saw th' oppressor's might in judgment hurl'd,<br>A storm of vengeance on the guilty world!<br>Beheld his throne revers'd, his empire past,<br>And peace and joy descend, serene, at last!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">So when impetuous winds forget to rave,<br>And sun-set radiance trembles o'er the wave;<br>Sweet Eve, advancing o'er the summer-deep,<br>Charms every billow, ev'ry breeze, to sleep!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Dawn, age of bliss! but e'er thy morn shall rise,<br>And waft a train of cherubs from the skies;<br>The foes of man, who mark their deathful way,<br>With tears of blood, and earthquakes of dismay;<br>These, these must fall, a desolating band,<br>Fall by the darts in Retribution's hand;<br>And tyrants vanquish'd, humbled in the dust,<br>Kneel at her shrine, and own the sentence just!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Then wave, oh, Albion! wave thy sword again,<br>Call thy brave champions to the battle-plain!<br>Rise, might of nations! ardent to oppose<br>The rushing torrent of unpitying foes!<br>Soon shall they own that freedom's cause inspires,<br>Undaunted spirit and resistless fires!<br>Rise! all combin'd, 'in arms, in heart, the same,'<br>The arms of honor and the heart of flame!<br>Nor check th' avenging sword, the patriot-spear;<br>Till stern Ambition falls, in mid career!<br>Then let the falchion sleep, the combat cease,<br>The sun of conquest light the path of peace!<br>Let the green laurel with the palm entwine,<br>And rear on trophies bright, her firm, eternal shrine!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Dawn, age of bliss! the wounds of discord close,<br>Furl the red standard, bid the sword repose!<br>Then o'er the globe let worshipp'd freedom smile,<br>Bright as in Albion's truth-illumin'd isle!<br>Her Grecian temple rear on every shore,<br>Where every knee shall bend and heart adore!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Queen of the valiant arm, the warrior-breast,<br>Light of the ocean! day-star of the west!<br>Oh! Albion! Liberty's immortal fane,<br>Empress of isles! palladium of the main!<br>Tho' thy loud thunders thro' the world resound,<br>Tho' thy red lightnings flash victorious round;<br>Tho' nations own, in many a distant clime,<br>Thy arm triumphant, as thy name sublime;<br>Rock of the waves! tho' proud, from zone to zone,<br>Extend the pillars of thy naval throne;<br>Around thy coast tho' wild destruction roars,<br>Yet calm and fertile smile thy favor'd shores;<br>In emerald verdure blooms thy sunny plain,<br>And the dark war-blast rolls without—in vain!<br>Tho' flames of valor, kindling in thine eye,<br>Brave every storm, and every foe defy;<br>Yet soft, beneath its milder beam, serene, <br>Luxuriance blossoms o'er the glowing scene;<br>Fair laugh thy vales! no deathful sounds assail,<br>Mirth warbles free, and music swells the gale;</div><div style="margin:10px 0">While firm in might, thy victor-arm extends,<br>Death to thy foes, and succour to thy friends!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Thus potent Prospero's creative spell<br>Bade the wild surge in mountain-fury swell;<br>Call'd up the spirits of the raging deep,<br>Arous'd the whirlwind, o'er the waves to sweep;<br>But on th' enchanted isle, his fair domain,<br>Rais'd the bright vision of the sylphid train;<br>And bade soft notes, and fairy-warbled airs,<br>Melt o'er the sense, and lull corroding cares!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Yet, Queen of Isles! tho' peace, with angel-form,<br>Smile on thy cliffs, regardless of the storm;<br>Favor'd of heaven! e'en thou, tho' distant far,<br>Hast wept the horrors of relentless war;<br>E'en thou hast mourn'd o'er many a hero's bier,<br>Grac'd with thy laurels, hallow'd with thy tear!<br>For those whose arms, whose blood preserv'd thee free,<br>(Who would not bleed, O peerless isle! for thee?)</div><div style="margin:10px 0">For those who, falling on their subject-wave,<br>Made the dark billow glory's proudest grave;<br>How oft has anguish taught thy tears to flow,<br>Thy sighs, despondence, and thine accents, woe!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Yes! thou hast mourn'd the brave, illustrious dead,<br>Martyrs for thee, by faith and valor led!<br>When he, the warrior of the patriot-glow,<br>Whose ebbing life-blood stain'd Canadian snow;<br>When thy own Wolfe, by all thy spirit fir'd,<br>Triumphant fought, exulted, and expir'd;<br>Gave to thy fame the last, the lingering breath,<br>The joy in agony, the smile in death,<br>How swell'd thy heart with blended feeling's tide,<br>How sorrow paled the kindling cheek of pride!<br>And the bright garland, purchas'd by his doom,<br>Seem'd half despoil'd, and withering in its bloom!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Yes! when thy Nelson, matchless in the fight,<br>Bade nations own thee of resistless might;</div><div style="margin:10px 0">And pouring on their heads destruction's flame,<br>Clos'd in its dreadful blaze a life of fame;<br>When the red star of conquest and of pow'r<br>Beam'd in full zenith on his parting hour;<br>Dispers'd the shadows of surrounding gloom,<br>And shed meridian lustre—on his tomb;<br>Then the sad tears which mourn'd thy gallant son,<br>Dimm'd the fair trophies by his prowess won;<br>Then patriot-sighs and consecrated grief,<br>Embalm'd the memory of th' undaunted chief;<br>Pale, weeping victory tore her laurel-crown,<br>And tun'd to sorrow's dirge the clarion of renown!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">And thou, firm leader of th' intrepid host,<br>Which brav'd each peril on Iberia's coast,<br>Thy name, oh, Moore! thro' long, succeeding years,<br>Shall claim the tribute of thy country's tears!<br>Oh! firm in faith, in countless dangers prov'd,<br>In spirit lofty, and by death unmov'd!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Thine was the towering soul, disdaining fear,<br>And fatal valor, clos'd thy bright career! </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Illustrious Leader! in that hour of fate,<br>When hope and terror near the suff'rer wait;<br>When the pale cheek and fading eye proclaim<br>The last, long struggle of the trembling frame;<br>When the fierce death-pang vibrates every sense,<br>And fainting nature shudders in suspense;<br>E'en then thy bosom felt the patriot-flame, <br>Still beat the quivering pulse at Albion's name!<br>In that dread hour thy thoughts to Albion flew, <br>Thy parting thrill of life, thy latest throb was true!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Illustrious Leader! on that awful day,<br>When war and horror frown'd, in dark array;<br>When vengeance wav'd her fire-flag o'er the slain,<br>And carnage hover'd o'er Corunna's plain;<br>Faint with fatigue and streaming with their blood,<br>How nobly firm thy band of heroes stood!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">'Twas their's unmov'd, unconquer'd, to oppose<br>Pain, famine, danger, and unnumber'd foes!<br>Nor toil, nor want, nor sickness then subdu'd,<br>The 'Lion-heart' of British fortitude!<br>E'en then those humbled foes their might deplor'd, <br>And own'd that conquest wav'd Britannia's sword!<br>E'en then they fought, intrepid, undismay'd,<br>Death in their charge and lightning on their blade!<br>Yes! warrior-band! by noblest ardor led,<br>True to the last, ye triumph'd while ye bled!<br>Serene in pain, exulting 'midst alarms,<br>Bold, firm, invincible, your matchless arms!<br>Then Freedom rear'd her victor-flag on high,<br>Glow'd in each heart and flash'd from every eye;<br>England! thy glory every bosom swell'd,<br>England! thy spirit every arm impell'd!<br>MOORE! thy bright sun in fame, in victory set,<br>Tho' dimm'd with tears, tho' clouded with regret!<br>Yet shall thy trophies rear, to distant time,<br>High on thy native shore a Cenotaph sublime.</div><div style="margin:10px 0">But, ah! bold Victory! can thy festal train,<br>Thy purple streamers, or thy choral strain;<br>Can thy proud spear, in wreaths immortal drest,<br>Thy radiant panoply, thy wavy crest;<br>Can these one grief, one bosom-pang beguile,<br>Or teach despair one heart-reviving smile?<br>Tint the pale cheek with pleasure's mantling hue,<br>Light the dim eye with joy and lustre new?<br>Or check one sigh, one sad, yet fruitless tear,<br>Fond love devotes to martyr'd valor's bier?</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Lo! where, with pallid look and suppliant hands,<br>Near the cold urn th' imploring mother stands!<br>Fix'd is her eye, her anguish cannot weep!<br>There all her hopes with youthful virtue sleep!<br>There sleeps the son, whose op'ning years display'd<br>Each flatt'ring promise, doom'd so soon to fade.<br>Too brave, too ardent, on the field he fell,<br>Fame hover'd near, and Conquest rung his knell.</div><div style="margin:10px 0">But could their pomp console her wounded breast,<br>Dispel one sigh, or lull one care to rest?<br>Ah! suff'ring Parent! fated still to mourn,<br>Ah! wounded heart!—he never shall return.</div><div style="margin:10px 0">He fell!—that eye of soft and varying ray,<br>Where warm expression kindled into day;<br>Where ardor sparkled, where affection beam'd,<br>And youth and hope in living lustre stream'd;<br>That voice belov'd, whose bliss-imparting-tone,<br>Bade her fond heart its thrilling magic own;<br>That mantling cheek, where animation glow'd,<br>Spread the rich bloom, the vivid flush bestow'd;<br>That brilliant eye is clos'd in shades of night,<br>That voice is hush'd, that cheek no longer bright!<br>'Twas her's, when hope one meteor-beam had giv'n, <br>(Fair form of light! sweet fugitive of heav'n!)<br>To see dark clouds obscure the rainbow-dream,<br>Watch its pale sun-set, and its closing gleam!<br>To see the last, the lingering bliss depart,<br>The lonely Day-star of her widow'd heart!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">He fell!—her woe, her soul-consuming grief,<br>Mourns in no language, seeks for no relief;<br>Forbids the mind in sympathy to glow,<br>The voice to murmur, and the tear to flow;<br>But deep within, enshrin'd in silent sway, <br>Dwells on each nerve—and withers life away!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Or see you Orphan-maid, in beauty's bloom,<br>Fair lovely mourner o'er a Father's tomb!<br>For him, far distant on the battle-plain,<br>She pray'd, and wish'd, and wept—alas!—in vain!<br>No tender friend receiv'd his parting breath, <br>No filial sweetness cheer'd the hour of death—<br>For, ah! when nature most demands to share<br>The smile of tenderness, the hand of care;<br>E'en then, deserted on the field, he bled,<br>Unknown, unmark'd, his gallant spirit fled!<br>Lo! where she weeps forlorn, in anguish lost,<br>A frail Mimosa, blighted by the frost!<br>Who now shall guard the blossom of her youth, <br>The gem of innocence, the flower of truth?</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Sweet hapless Maid! thy only friend is gone,<br>Hope lingering smiles, and points to heav'n alone!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Ah! who can tell the thousands doom'd to moan,<br>Condemn'd by war, to hopeless grief unknown!<br>Thou, laureate Victor! when thy blazon'd shield,<br>Wears the proud emblems of the conquer'd field;<br>When trophies glitter on thy radiant car,<br>And thronging myriads hail thee from afar;<br>When praise attunes her spirit-breathing lyre,<br>Swells every tone, wakes every chord of fire;<br>Then could thine eyes each drooping mourner see, <br>Behold each hopeless anguish, caus'd by thee;<br>Hear, for each measure of the votive strain,<br>The rending sigh that murmurs o'er the slain;<br>See, for each banner fame and victory wave,<br>Some sufferer bending o'er a soldier's grave;<br>How would that scene, with grief and horror fraught,<br>Chill the warm glow, and check th' exulting thought!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">E'en in that hour, that gay, triumphal hour, <br>'Midst the bright pageants of applause and pow'r;<br>When at thy name th' adoring Pæans rise,<br>And waft thy deeds in incense to the skies;<br>Fame in thine eyes, would veil her towering plume,<br>And victory's laurels lose their fairest bloom!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Power of the ruthless arm, the deathful spear,<br>Unmov'd, unpitying, in thy dread career;<br>Whom no sad cries, no mournful scenes impede,<br>Melt thy proud heart, or curb thy lightning-speed;<br>Around whose throne malignant spirits wait,<br>Whose path is ruin, and whose arm is fate!<br>Stern, dark Ambition! Typhon of the world!<br>Thine are the darts, o'er man in vengeance hurl'd!<br>'Tis thine, where nature smiles with young delight,<br>With fiery wing, to spread Oppression's blight;<br>To blast the realms with rich profusion crown'd,<br>Like the dire Upas, tainting all around!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Thus o'er the southern climes, luxuriant lands,<br>Where spreads the olive, where the vine expands;<br>The dread volcano bids the torrent sweep,<br>Rolls the fierce lava burning down the steep;<br>Life, beauty, verdure, fated to destroy,<br>Blast every bloom, and wither every joy!<br>Sweet orange-groves, with fruits and blossoms fair,<br>Which breath'd the soul of fragrance on the air;<br>Vineyards that blush'd, with mantling clusters grac'd,<br>Gay domes, erected by the hand of taste;<br>These mingled all in one resistless fire,<br>Flame to the skies, fair nature's funeral pyre!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Ambition! vainly wouldst thou gild thy name,<br>With specious rays of conquest and of fame;<br>Truth waves her wand! from her all-piercing eye,<br>From her Ithuriel-spear, thy glories fly!<br>In vain to thee may suppliant mercy kneel,<br>Plead with soft voice, and deprecate the steel!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Look up, with seraph-eye, in tears benign,<br>Smile thro' each tear, with eloquence divine;<br>In vain implore thee to relent and spare,<br>With cherub-mien and soul-dissolving pray'r:<br>Lost are those accents of melodious charms,<br>'Midst the loud clangor of surrounding arms;<br>Thy heart of adamant repels the strain,<br>Mercy! thy pray'r, thy tear, thy hope, is vain!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">But can remorse, despotic pow'r! prevail, <br>And wound thy bosom thro' the 'twisted mail?'<br>Say, can his frown, by shudd'ring conscience felt, <br>Pierce the dark soul which mercy cannot melt?<br>No, tyrant! no, when conquest points thy way,<br>And lights thy track—the blood-path of dismay;<br>E'en then his darts, tho' barb'd with fiery pain, <br>Fall from thy woundless heart, averted by disdain!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Pow'r of the ruthless arm! we see thy form,<br>Tow'r 'midst the darkness of the gath'ring storm;</div><div style="margin:10px 0">We see thy sabre with portentous blaze,<br>Flash o'er the nations, trembling as they gaze;<br>And lo! we hear thine awful voice resound,<br>While fear and wonder faint, thro' empires round:<br>'Realms of the globe, submit! adore my pow'r!<br>Mine the red falchion, practis'd to devour!<br>Mine, dark destruction's torch of lucid light,<br>Mine, her keen scymitar's resistless might!<br>Chiefs! patriots! heroes! kneeling at my shrine,<br>Your arms, your laurels, and your fame, resign!<br>Bend, ye proud isles! my dread behest obey!<br>Yield, prostrate nations! and confess my sway!<br>Lo! the bright ensigns of supreme command,<br>Flame on my brow, and glitter in my hand!<br>Lo! at my throne what vanquish'd myriads wait,<br>My look, decision! and my sceptre, fate!<br>Ye lands, ye monarchs! bow the vassal-knee!<br>World, thou art mine! and I alone am free;<br>For who shall dare, with dauntless heart advance,<br>Rouse my dread arm, and brave my potent lance?'</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Relentless pow'r! thy deeds from age to age,<br>Stain the fair annals of th' impartial page!<br>O'er the mild beam of order, silvery bright,<br>Long have thy votaries pour'd the clouds of night,<br>And chang'd the loveliest realms, where plenty smil'd,<br>To the lone desert and abandon'd wild!<br>Ye western regions of a brighter zone,<br>Ye lands that bow'd at Montezuma's throne;<br>Where vivid nature wears the richest dyes,<br>Matur'd to glory by exalting skies;<br>Scenes of luxuriance! o'er your blooming pride,<br>How ruin swept the desolating tide!<br>When the fierce Cortes pour'd his faithless train,<br>O'er the gay treasures of your fervid reign;<br>Taught the pure streams with crimson stains to flow,<br>Made the rich vales a wilderness of woe!<br>And swell'd each breeze of soft, ambrosial air,<br>With cries of death and murmurs of despair!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Peruvian realms! where wealth resplendent shines,<br>Thron'd in full glory, 'midst your diamond mines;</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Where vegetation spreads her brightest hues,<br>Nurs'd by soft airs, and balm-descending dews;<br>Where all his beams, the worshipp'd sun bestows,<br>And Flora's empire to perfection glows;<br>O'er your gay plains, ambition spread alarms, <br>When stern Pizarro rush'd with conquering arms,<br>Despoil'd your wealth, and ravag'd all your charms!<br>Ferocious leader! his aspiring soul,<br>Nor fear could tame, nor social ties control!<br>Ardent and firm, in countless dangers bold,<br>Dark—savage—fierce—to faith, to mercy—cold!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Then was the sword to dire oppression giv'n,<br>Her vulture-wing obscur'd the light of heav'n!<br>Thro' many a plantain-shade, and cedar-grove,<br>Where the blest Indian caroll'd joy and love;<br>The war-note swell'd upon the zephyr's calm,<br>The wood-nymph, Peace, forsook her bow'rs of palm!<br>And Freedom fled, to Andes' heights unknown,<br>Majestic Solitude's primæval throne!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Where Echo sleeps, in loneliness profound,<br>Hears not a step, nor quivers at a sound!<br>Yet there the genius of eternal snows,<br>Mark'd far beneath, a scene of death disclose!<br>Saw the red combat raging on the plain,<br>Heard the deep dirge that murmur'd o'er the slain!<br>While stern Ambition wak'd th' exulting cry,<br>And wav'd his blazing torch, and meteor-flag, on high!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Yet, ah! not there, vindictive pow'r! alone,<br>Has lawless carnage rear'd thy towering throne;<br>For Europe's polish'd realms, thro' every age, <br>Have mourn'd thy triumphs and bewail'd thy rage!<br>Tho' soft refinement there, o'er ev'ry land,<br>Spread the mild empire of her silver wand;<br>Erect supreme, her light Corinthian fane,<br>Tune the sweet lyre, and modulate the strain;<br>Tho' Genius there, on Rapture's pinions soar,<br>And worlds of ether and of fire, explore;</div><div style="margin:10px 0">There, tho' Religion smile with seraph-eye,<br>And shed her gifts, like manna, from the sky;<br>While Faith and Hope, exulting in her sight,<br>Pour the full noon of glory's living light;<br>There still Ambition bids his victims bleed,<br>Still rolls his whirlwind, with destructive speed!<br>Still in his flame, devoted realms consume,<br>Fled is their smile and wither'd is their bloom!<br>With every charm has Nature's lavish hand<br>Adorn'd, sweet Italy! thy favor'd land!<br>There Summer laughs, with glowing aspect fair,<br>Unfolds her tints, and 'waves her golden hair;'<br>Bids her light sylphs delicious airs convey,<br>On their soft pinions, waving as they play;<br>O'er cluster'd grapes, the lucid mantle throw,<br>And spread gay life in one empurpling glow?<br>Paint all the rainbow on perennial flow'rs,<br>And shed exuberance o'er thy myrtle-bow'rs!<br>Verdure in ev'ry shade thy woods display,</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Where soft gradations melt in light away!<br>And vernal sweets, in rich profusion blow,<br>E'en 'midst the reign of solitude and snow!<br>Yet what avail the bright ambrosial stores,<br>Which gay redundance o'er thy region pours?<br>Devoted land! from long-departed time,<br>The chosen theatre of war and crime!<br>What tho' for thee transcendent suns arise,<br>The myrtle blossoms, and the zephyr sighs;<br>What tho' for thee again Arcadia blooms,<br>And cloudless radiance all thy realm illumes;<br>There still has Rapine seiz'd her yielding prey,<br>There still Oppression spreads th' unbounded sway;<br>There oft has War each blooming charm effac'd,<br>And left the glowing vale, a bleak, deserted waste!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Is there a land, where halcyon peace has reign'd,<br>From age to age, in glory unprofan'd?<br>Has dwelt serenely in perpetual rest,<br>'Heav'n in her eye,' and mercy in her breast?</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Ah, no! from clime to clime, with ruthless train,<br>Has war still ravag'd o'er the blasted plain!<br>His lofty banner to the winds unfurl'd,<br>And swept the storm of vengeance o'er the world!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Yet, oh! stern GOD! if ever conscious right, <br>If ever justice arm'd thee for the fight; <br>If e'er fair truth approv'd thy dread career,<br>Smil'd on thy track and curb'd thy deathful spear;<br>Now may the generous heart exulting see, <br>Those righteous powers in amity with thee!<br>For never, never, in a holier cause, <br>Nor sanction'd e'er by purer, nobler laws;<br>Has Albion seiz'd the sabre and the shield,<br>Or rush'd impetuous to th' ensanguin'd field!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Oh! when that cause triumphant shall prevail,<br>And Freedom's foes her ark no more assail;<br>Then might thy smile, sweet Peace! thy angel-form,<br>Beam thro' the clouds, and tranquillize the storm!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Lo! to the Muse's bright, prophetic eyes,<br>What scenes unfold! what radiant visions rise!<br>See hand in hand, and wafted from above,<br>Celestial Mercy, and angelic love!<br>Lo! from the regions of the morning-star,<br>Descending seraphs bear their sun-bright car!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">'High the peaceful streamers wave!<br>'Lo!’ they sing, 'we come to save!<br>'Come to smile on ev'ry shore,<br>'Truth and Eden to restore!<br>'Come, the balm of joy to bring,<br>'Borne on softest gales of spring!<br>'Rapture! swell the choral voice,<br>'Favor'd earth! rejoice, rejoice!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">'Now the work of death is o'er,<br>'Sleep, thou sword! to wake no more!<br>'Never more Ambition's hand<br>'Shall wave thee o'er a trembling land!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">'Never more, in hopeless anguish,<br>'Caus'd by thee, shall virtue languish!<br>'Rapture! swell the choral voice,<br>'Favor'd earth, rejoice, rejoice!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">'Cease to flow, thou purple flood,<br>'Cease to fall, ye tears of blood!<br>'Swell no more the clarion's breath,<br>'Wake no more the song of death!<br>'Rise, ye hymns of concord, rise,<br>'Incense, worthy of the skies!<br>'Wake the Pæan, tune the voice,<br>'Favor'd earth, rejoice, rejoice!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">'Nature, smile! thy vivid grace,<br>'Now no more shall war deface;<br>'Airs of spring, oh! sweetly breathe,<br>'Summer! twine thy fairest wreath!<br>'Not the warrior's bier to spread, <br>'Not to crown the victor's head; </div><div style="margin:10px 0">'But with flowers of every hue,<br>'Love and mercy's path to strew!<br>'Swell to heaven the choral voice,<br>'Favor'd earth! rejoice, rejoice!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">'Sleep, Ambition! rage, expire!<br>'Vengeance! fold thy wing of fire!<br>'Close thy dark and lurid eye,<br>'Bid thy torch, forsaken, die!<br>'Furl thy banner, waving proud,<br>'Dreadful as the thunder-cloud!<br>'Shall destruction blast the plain?<br>'Shall the falchion rage again?<br>'Shall the sword thy bands dissever?<br>'Never, sweet Affection! never!<br>'As the halcyon o'er the ocean,<br>'Lulls the billow's wild commotion,<br>'So we bid dissension cease.<br>'Bloom, O Amaranth of peace!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">'Twine the spear with vernal roses!<br>'Now the reign of discord closes!<br>'Goddess of th' unconquer'd isles,<br>'Freedom! triumph in our smiles!<br>'Blooming youth, and wisdom hoary,<br>'Bards of fame, and sons of glory;<br>'Albion! pillar of the main!<br>'Monarchs! nations! join the strain!<br>'Swell to heav'n th' exulting voice;<br>'Mortals, triumph! earth, rejoice!'</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Oh! blissful song! and shall thy notes resound,<br>While joy and wonder bend entranc'd around?<br>And shall thy music float on every breeze,<br>Melt on the shores and warble o'er the seas?<br>Oh! mercy! love! ambassadors of heav'n!<br>And shall your sunshine to mankind be giv'n?<br>Hope! is thy tale a visionary theme?<br>Oh! smile, supernal pow'r! and realize the dream! <br>And thou, the radiant messenger of truth,<br>Deck'd with perennial charms, unfading youth!<br>Oh! thou, whose pinions as they wave, diffuse<br>All Hybla's fragrance and all Hermon's dews;<br>Thou! in whose cause have martyrs died serene,<br>In soul triumphant, and august in mien!<br>Oh! bright Religion! spread thy spotless robe,<br>Salvation's mantle, o'er a guilty globe!<br>Oh! let thine ark, where'er the billows roll,<br>Borne on their bosom, float from pole to pole!<br>Each distant isle and lonely coast explore,<br>And bear the olive-branch to ev'ry shore!<br>Come, Seraph! come: fair pity in thy train,<br>Shall sweetly breathe her soul-dissolving strain;<br>While her blue eyes thro' tears benignly beam,<br>Soft as the moon-light, quivering on the stream!<br>Come, Seraph! come, around thy form shall play,<br>Diffusive glories of celestial day!<br>Oh! let each clime thy noon of lustre share,<br>And rapture hail the perfect and the fair!</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Let peace on earth resound from heav'n once more,<br>And angel-harps th' exulting anthems pour;<br>While faith, and truth, and holy wisdom bind,<br>One hallow'd zone—to circle all mankind!</div><div style="margin:10px 0"><br /></a><br />poem by <a href="http://en.citatepedia.ro/by.php?a=Felicia+Dorothea+Hemans">Felicia Dorothea Hemans</a><div class=q>
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<script type="text/javascript" src="//s7.addthis.com/js/300/addthis_widget.js#pubid=citatepedia" async="async"></script><div style="display:inline-block" class="addthis_sharing_toolbox" data-url="http://en.citatepedia.ro/comments.php?id=391687" data-title="War And Peace—A Poem de Felicia Dorothea Hemans" data-description="THOU, bright Futurity! whose prospect beams,
In dawning radiance on our day-light dreams;
Whose lambent meteors and ethereal forms
Gild the dark clouds, and glitter thro' the storms;
On thy broad canvas fancy loves to trace,
Her brilliant Iris, dr..."></div>
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