THE POET'S aEAVB.

Southland Times, Issue 1002, 12 August 1868, Page 3

THE POET'S GRAVE'S

Bt John GK Smith. ; • ] L ' **" A Poet's dust is slumbering in this grave, Which, undistinguish'd from the. common moondt That range on every side, is known to few ; And few enquire the spot. He hath been dead Too short a time for fame to sound his praise, And draw the admiring rabble -to its side, And carre his name in monumental stone. I»ut yet the lordlihg in yon marble tomb, ._._ Adorned with all the pageantry of woe, ..-. I. Whose ashes mix with the ancestral dust ' Of many centuries ; who, when he lived, Ne'er raised his voice to soothe a brother's grief* , Or stretch'd his hand to ease a brother's toU, - Hath fewer mourners at his tomb than' he. '", il ' ■ '' . The angry wind careering from the north, ; And fiercely howling o'er the naked moor, And thro' the leafless brake, sinks gently down . Into a soft and balmy whisper'd sigh Whene'er it nears this spot of sacred ground. " The streamlet, too, mad rushing the hill, ■ - And bounding on from linn to dimpled pool la joyous glee and infantine delight, Here stops its sportive din, and glides along With mellow-murmur'd dirge, as if afraid The sound would break his rest who sleep*,below. m. The flowers which bloom around thii lovely grave - : Ne'er raise their leaflets to the summer sun, fiat droop their heads procumbent on the sward | And shed a sweeter perfume all around. .- ; = The redbreast at the dewy twilight hour Oft lonesome sits upon that moss gray stone, And warbles forth his tuneful notes of woe, Mellifluous ; while on yon aged, elm, Which spreads its boughs above the churchyard path, The mavis sings in rich and varied strains, •- A wail of sorrow for the sleeping dead. IV. 'Tis meet that Nature bend her radiant form, And shed her dewy tears above his bed :• He was her worshipper ; and from a child Had bowed his heart before her holy shrine. While yet the morning sun smiled on his path, . : He was a wand'rer in the lonely woods, And converse held wi h every murm'ring rill, t And glassy lake, and frowning mountain's steep.' The very breezes wafted to his ear .- Angelic whisp'riugs from the spirit-land. The roll of thunder echoing down the: glen, The daßh of ocean's billows, and the din Of streamlet sporting on its rocky'be'di Sad voices all for him, wjuch neve.r,pierced The ear, the heart,' the bouT of other men. ..~~y7~7." 'Tis meet that Nature weep -beside his bed : He was her son, and with no niggard hand On him she showered her gifts, and he became The true interpreter of all her ways | And-varied-aspects-to-the-gons of men. To him the lark brought down from heaven's, gate \l The anthems hymned~by-th«"celestial choir. He-seadthe-silent mosioof the stars;. • ./.— /.~* Which, whirl, course inthe empyrean blue, , '" r "' And rule' the destines of earth-born man.' '' " ''' He- heard "a'vbice iff every sound that' came"' > '>;' - E>om .earth .and air, dfrpm,rurerj rock,- and ,aea?77:. t , •{ < A voice for ever full of joy, and praise, And gratitude td"him who gave' them 1 Virtfiv" ' ' ' • " The tine'st leaftKat qmver'd !! iri"the' breezej '■"'''*" " OI The lowliest flower that deck'd the pathway/«d«\ The butterfly , with rainbow-painted wing, The wild bee humming o'er the daisied mead, The beetiedroniiif wearily thro' the air, Had music for his soul :.he v voiecd.it forth In rapfrous accents to the wond*ring ear. m -.- v - ;VII. j m v I do remember — for I knew him well— The, fire that flashedffom Es tempestup^s.eyjj , f t When'he' would hear, of w^oiig's j the witherxnf scorn' '_ . . ' .'■' '.. •'. _' . ,' : ,'■'.','.'.-! ..• He'hurled at the oppressor, and the tear '' M ' Of sympathy that flowed 'tinbidde^' down- '' : '''"' The furrows of his pale' and' withered 1 cheek, ; : ' With! the. down-trodden^ sons of daily tojl. The sacred love of independence firdd /' ,' His inmost soul; his spirit writhed beneath. ' ' The supercilious smile, ihe. cold negledt,." ' : • The condescending, patronising nod Of rich-bbrn.caitm with a'heart of clay. ,• ' ' . VIII. He flung'liis thoughts profusely on the world, ' Which paid him only with applauding smile,. '"•"*• And passed him by, and worshipped as before The idol Self; forgetful of the man r Who dug" for [ thenrttar precious treasure-Btoret And brilliant gems to deck' their' Worthless soolaj Alas! for the'phflosophy^of men,— ; Cold-hearted, narrow-minded'selfishifesi;-' - y - Which dooms to poverty, neglect, and death, A living «kM»^andlihen upon his grave Buuds mausoleums to hM'memoty. : [