Page:The Works of Lord Byron (ed. Coleridge, Prothero) - Volume 1.djvu/264

224 Let Adulation wait on kings;

With joy elate, by snares beset,

We, we, my friends, can ne'er forget,

"Friendship is Love without his wings!"

9.

Fictions and dreams inspire the bard,

Who rolls the epic song;

Friendship and truth be my reward—

To me no bays belong;

If laurell'd Fame but dwells with lies,

Me the enchantress ever flies,

Whose heart and not whose fancy sings;

Simple and young, I dare not feign;

Mine be the rude yet heartfelt strain,

"Friendship is Love without his wings!" December 29, 1806. [First published, 1832.]

THE PRAYER OF NATURE.

1.

of Light! great God of Heaven!

Hear'st thou the accents of despair?

Can guilt like man's be e'er forgiven?

Can vice atone for crimes by prayer?