Classic Poem

A FRAGMENT .

In ages past, men travers'd wide,
Thro' distant lands, and stem'd the tide;
Rough oceans pass'd, and deserts drear,
To find things excellent and rare;
But I need seek no distant shore;
All that is excellent and more,
Are in those eyes that I adore.

When the raging tempest storms,
And night has wrapp'd the world in shades;
When gloom the face of Heav'n deforms,
And horror all the sea pervades;
As then the pilot lifts his eye,
Toward the spacious vault on high,
To have his course directed right,
Through all the terrors of the night;
So thro' the tempests of my mind,
Those eyes, my polar stars I find;
They are my never-failing guide,
And over all my steps preside.
Yes, charming Laura ! in your eyes
Beams light which guides me to the skies;
Points out the path, and shows the road,
Which leads to Heaven's blest abode.