Thou Lingering Star
The Hundred Best Poems (lyrical) in the English language - second series
I.
THOU ling'ring star with less'ning ray,That lov'st to greet the early morn,Again thou usher'st in the dayMy Mary from my soul was torn.O Mary, dear departed shade!Where is thy place of blissful rest?See'st thou thy lover lowly laid?Hear'st thou the groans that rend his breast?
II.
That sacred hour can I forget,Can I forget the hallow'd grove,Where, by the winding Ayr, we metTo live one day of parting love?
Eternity cannot effaceThose records dear of transports past,Thy image at our last embrace—Ah! little thought we 'twas our last!
III.
Ayr, gurgling, kiss'd his pebbled shore,O'erhung with wild woods thickening green;The fragrant birch and hawthorn hoar'Twin'd amorous round the raptur'd scene;The flowers sprang wanton to be prest,The birds sang love on every spray,Till too, too soon, the glowing westProclaim'd the speed of winged day.
IV.
Still o'er these scenes my mem'ry wakes,And fondly broods with miser-care.Time but th' impression stronger makes,As streams their channels deeper wear.O Mary, dear departed shade!Where is thy place of blissful rest?See'st thou thy lover lowly laid?Hear'st thou the groans that rend his breast?