English Poetry II: From Collins to Fitzgerald.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14. |
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| 322. The Shrubbery |
| | | William Cowper (1731–1800) |
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| O HAPPY shades! to me unblest! | |
| Friendly to peace, but not to me! | |
| How ill the scene that offers rest, | |
| And heart that cannot rest, agree! | |
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| This glassy stream, that spreading pine, | 5 |
| Those alders quivering to the breeze, | |
| Might soothe a soul less hurt than mine, | |
| And please, if anything could please. | |
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| But fixed unalterable Care | |
| Foregoes not what she feels within, | 10 |
| Shows the same sadness everywhere, | |
| And slights the season and the scene. | |
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| For all that pleased in wood or lawn, | |
| While Peace possessed these silent bowers, | |
| Her animating smile withdrawn, | 15 |
| Has lost its beauties and its powers. | |
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| The saint or moralist should tread | |
| This moss-grown alley, musing, slow; | |
| They seek, like me, the secret shade, | |
| But not, like me, to nourish woe! | 20 |
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| Me fruitful scenes and prospects waste, | |
| Alike admonish not to roam; | |
| These tell me of enjoyments past, | |
| And those of sorrows yet to come. | |
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