Page:Poems of Nature and Life.djvu/398

 388 CONSOLATIONS OF SOLITUDE

Reason hath taught me without dread My day o'erwhelmed with clouds to see,

And with a careless step to tread The bleak wastes of adversity, —

��To make the most of flower and tree, The rather that so soon they fade,

And, when a beauteous morn I see. To whisper, " It must end in shade."

Therefore I husband it with care.

Still lengthening pleasure to the last ;

And, when 'tis o'er, I ne'er despair, But seek my sunshine in the past.

Or forward, in a fair to-morrow

The cloudy present I forget. Nor for one instant harbor sorrow ;

For I have learned, O rivulet !

That absent pain is life's chief pleasure ;

Who 'scapes remorse or dire distress Hath found on earth no common treasure

Few reach so mean a happiness.

In humblest things I find delight.

Nor seek in man nor thee perfection,

And keep my day, now near its night, Warm with a more diffused affection.

Though no too brilliant scenes entrance, No dull ones cast too deep a shade ;

Onward I tranquilly advance,

Admiring nought, of nought afraid.

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