William B. Tappan (1794-1849). O Come from a World. Samuel Kettell, ed. 1829. Specimens of American Poetry

Samuel Kettell, ed. Specimens of American Poetry. 1829.

O Come from a World

By William B. Tappan (1794–1849)


O COME from a world, where sorrow and gloom,
Chastise the allurements of joy;
A pathway bedimm’d, with no rays to illume,
Save the meteor that shines to destroy;
Where the thoughtless have revell’d, when mirth had no charm,	5
Where the wounded have wept, but still needed the balm.

O come from a world, where the landscape is chill,
Or deceitfully blossoming fair,
The garden gives promise of bright flowers, still,
The nightshade luxuriates there;	10
That sky, now serene, blushing lovely and clear,
O heed not its beauty, the storm-cloud is near.

O come from a world, where the cup of delight
Now sparkles and foams at the brim;
For the laurels that wreath it, reflection shall blight,	15
Its lustre, repentance shall dim;
The lips, that convivial, have pledged thee the bowl,
Shall blanch with confusion when fear rives the soul.

O come from a world, where they that beguile
Will lead thee to peril and fears;	20
For the heart that, confiding, hath welcomed its smile,
Hath found it the prelude to tears:
Come then, there ’s a path by the reckless untrod;
O come, weary wanderer, it leads to thy God.