romantic poems

Age has been call'd " a Vale of Years ; "
Life , at the best, a Vale of Tears ;
Love , as December nights advance,
At least has parted with romance;
But St. L — — — t a charm has found
That Spring has to the Winter bound:
Upon his furrow'd cheek a tear
No more has clos'd the passing year.
For this, her gift — a Fairy's boon —
Is my commission from the Moon;
Prophetic is the potent spell —
I am its Wizard, and foretell :
The Regent , by an Act of State,

TO THE INKSTAND OF THE ANGEL-MOTHER, REPRESENTED BY TWO LOVED SISTERS TO ME .

 D EAR implement of art—combin'd
With spirit of a gifted mind,
When she, whose hand is now at rest,
Thee to its glowing service prest!
I cherish thee—and bless the pen,
Which calls thee into life again.
 Oh! could I emulate her thought!
Could the rich mine's pure vein be caught!
Her Genius only I'd implore,
And court the polish'd Muse no more.
To Nature's fountain ever trust,
And lay the Pedant in the dust.—

The wind blows out of the west,
The wind is merry and free;
It brings fair weather for us, love,
Fair weather for thee and me.

The sun shines out of the east,
And dances over the sea;
The world's aglitter for us, love,
Aglitter for thee and me.

And now the world's a-dusk,
The nest unstirred on the tree;
The fair moon hangs at its full, love,
And shineth for thee and me.

Toss not my soul, O Love, 'twixt hope and fear.
Show me some ground where I may firmly stand
Or surely fall; I care not which appear,
So one will close me in a certain band.

Take me, Assurance, to thy blissful hold,
Or thou, Despair, unto thy darkest cell.
Each hath full rest, the one in joys enrolled,
Th'other, in that he fears no more, is well.

Ye captive souls of blindfold Cyprian's boat,
Mark with advice in what estate ye stand:
Your boatman never whistles merry note,
And Folly keeping stern, still puts from land,
And makes a sport to toss you to and fro
Twixt sighing winds and surging waves of woe.

On Beauty's rock she runs you at her will,
And holds you in suspense twixt hope and fear,
Where dying oft, yet are you living still,
But such a life as death much better were.
Be therefore circumspect, and follow me,

Thou art too hard for me in Love:
There is no dealing with thee in that Art:
That is thy Masterpiece I see.
When I contrive and plot to prove
Something that may be conquest on my part
Thou still, O Lord, outstrippest me.

Sometimes, when as I wash, I say
And shrewdly, as I think, Lord wash my soul
More spotted than my flesh can be.
But then there comes into my way
Thy ancient baptism, which when I was foul
And knew it not, yet cleansed me.

I took a time when thou didst sleep,

Senful man, bethink and see
What peine I thole for love of thee.
Night and day to thee I grede,
Hand and fotes on rode isprede.
Nailed I was to the tree,
Ded and biried, man, for thee;
All this I drey for love of man.
But werse me dot, that he ne can
To me turnen onis his eye
Than all the peine that I drye.

Women, women, love of women
Maketh bare purses with sum men.

Sum be mery, and sum be sad,
And sum be besy, and sum be bad;
Sum be wilde, by Seint Chad;
Yet all be not so,
For sum be lewed,
And sum be shrewed;
Go, shrew, whersoever ye go.

Sum be wise, and sum be fonde;
Sum be tame, I understond;
Sum will take bred at a mannes hond;
Yet all be not so.

Sum be wroth and cannot tell wherfore;
Sum be skorning evermore,
And sum be tusked like a bore;
Yet all be not so.

When the nightegale singes,
The wodes waxen grene:
Lef and gras and blosme springes,
In Averil, I wene.
And love is to mine herte gon
With one spere so kene:
Night and day my blod it drinkes;
Mine herte deth me tene.

Ich have loved all this yer
That I may love na more;
Ich have siked mony sik,
Lemmon, for thine ore.
Me nis love never the ner,
And that me reweth sore.
Swete lemmon, thench on me:
Ich have loved thee yore.

Swete lemmon, I preye thee
Of love one speche.

Have good day, now, Mergerete,
With grete love I thee grete!
I wolde we mighten us ofte mete
In halle, in chaumbre, and in the strete,
Withoute blame of the contree —
God geve that so mighte it be!