A Serenade

Thy Guardians are asleep,So I'm come to bid thee rise;Thou hast a holy vow to keep,Ere yon crescent quit the skies.

Though clouds careering wideWill hardly let her gleam,She's bright enough to be our guideAcross the mountain stream.

O waken, dearest, wake!What means this long delay?Say, wilt thou not for true love's sakeChase idol fears away?

Think not of future griefEntailed on present joy;An age of woe were only briefIts memory to destroy.

And neither Hell nor Heaven,Though both conspire at last,Can take the bliss that has been given,Can rob us of the past.Then waken, Mary, wake,How canst thou linger now?For true love's and for honour's sakeArise and keep thy vow.