A SONG OF PITCAIRN'S ISLAND. COME, take our boy, and we will go COM Before our cabin-door; The winds shall bring us, as they blow, And we will kiss his young blue eyes, Songs that were made of yore: I'll sing, in his delighted ear, And thou, while stammering I repeat, Thy country's tongue shalt teach; Thou cam'st to woo me to be thine, I knew thy meaning-thou didst praise Ah! well for me they won thy gaze, I'm glad to see my infant wear By his white brow and blooming cheek, Come, talk of Europe's maids with me, Outshine the beauty of the sea, White foam and crimson shell. I'll shape like theirs my simple dress, Come, for the soft low sunlight calls, And I will learn of thee a prayer, The God who made, for thee and me, This sweet lone isle amid the sea. New York, 1825. "New York Review," June, 1825. THE FIRMAMENT. A Y! gloriously thou standest there, Beautiful, boundless firmament ! That, swelling wide o'er earth and air, And round the horizon bent, With thy bright vault, and sapphire wall, Dost overhang and circle all. Far, far below thee, tall gray trees The eagle soars his utmost height, Thou hast thy frowns-with thee on high The storm has made his airy seat, Beyond that soft blue curtain lie His stores of hail and sleet. Thence the consuming lightnings break, There the strong hurricanes awake. Yet art thou prodigal of smiles Smiles sweeter than thy frowns are stern. The glory that comes down from thee, The sun, the gorgeous sun is thine, The pomp that brings and shuts the day, The clouds that round him change and shine, The airs that fan his way. Thence look the thoughtful stars, and there The meek moon walks the silent air. The sunny Italy may boast The beauteous tints that flush her skies. And lovely, round the Grecian coast, May thy blue pillars rise. I only know how fair they stand And they are fair-a charm is theirs, That earth, the proud green earth, has not, With all the forms, and hues, and airs, We gaze upon thy calm pure sphere, And read of Heaven's eternal year. |