Poems (Campbell)/To Mrs. D*****, Lerwick

LINES ADDRESSED TO MRS. D * * * * *; LERWICK. 1813.

Oh! close not thus thy languid eyes,
Nor look so deathlike, and so pale!
Nor heave such deep desponding sighs—
Life yet may bloom, and joy prevail.

Oh! surely, to thy husband's pray'r,
And to thy helpless infants' tears,
The God of mercy yet will spare,
And crown thee still with health and years;

For their sweet sakes around thy bed,
Will hear a mother's anxious sighs:
Then raise once more that drooping head,
And lift again those languid eyes.

Oh! who would nurse their tender age,
And rear them up for heaven above,
Or guide their steps on life's rough stage,
Depriv'd of fond maternal love!

Long may that pious love be their's,
And long their future years repay
The ceaseless watch, the ceaseless cares,
That led them safe in childhood's day.

But soon the summer-s un shall rise,
And health shall breathe in ev'ry gale;
And flow'ry meads, and cloudless skies,
Invite thee to the rural vale.

There, while the limpid streamlets flow,
In gentle murmurs o'er the plain,
Again thy faded cheek shall glow,
And life shall throb in ev'ry vein.

Again thy trembling feet shall tread
The dewy earth's delightful green;
And, grief and pain with winter fled,
Thy heart shall hail and bless the scene.

Thy children prattling in thy arms,
Or near thee sporting, shall be found;
And health again her brightest charms
Diffuse on ev'ry object round.

And long may health and peace be thine,
And all that we on earth can know
Of love and happiness divine—
Till death shall close the scene below.

Then, full of holy love and joy,
May'st thou on wings of faith ascend,
Where pain shall never more annoy,
But rapture smile without an end!