Page:The West Indies, and Other Poems.djvu/102
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
90
Deep to the Willow's root it went,
And cleft the core asunder,
Like sudden secret lightning, sent
Without recording thunder:
—From that sad moment, slow away
Began the Willow to decay.
And cleft the core asunder,
Like sudden secret lightning, sent
Without recording thunder:
—From that sad moment, slow away
Began the Willow to decay.
In vain did Spring those bowers restore,
Where Loves and Graces revell'd,
Autumn's wild gales the branches tore,
The thin grey leaves dishevell'd,
And every wasting Winter found
The Willow nearer to the ground.
Where Loves and Graces revell'd,
Autumn's wild gales the branches tore,
The thin grey leaves dishevell'd,
And every wasting Winter found
The Willow nearer to the ground.
Hoary, and weak, and bent with age,
At length the axe assail'd it:
It bow'd before the woodman's rage;
—The swans of Thames bewail'd it,
With softer tones, with sweeter breath,
Than ever charm'd the ear of death.
At length the axe assail'd it:
It bow'd before the woodman's rage;
—The swans of Thames bewail'd it,
With softer tones, with sweeter breath,
Than ever charm'd the ear of death.