Let coward Guilt, with pallid Fear, To sheltering caverns fly, And justly dread the vengeful fate That thunders through the sky. Protected by that Hand, whose law The threatening storms obey, Intrepid Virtue smiles secure As in the blaze of day. In the thick cloud's tremendous gloom, The lightning's lurid glare, It views the same all gracious Power That breathes the vernal air. Through Nature's every varying scene, By different ways pursued, The one eternal end of Heaven Is universal good. With like beneficent effect, O'er flaming ether glows, As when it tunes the linnet's voice, Or blushes in the rose. By reason taught to scorn those fears That vulgar minds molest, Let no fantastic terrors break My dear Narcissus' rest. Thy life may all the tenderest care Of Providence defend; And delegated angels round Their guardian wings extend! When through Creation's vast expanse The last dread thunders roll, Untune the concord of the spheres, And shake the rising soul; Unmov'd, may'st thou the final storm Of jarring worlds survey, That ushers in the glad serene Of everlasting day! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE: 13 by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING SONNET - REALITIES: 1 by EDWARD ESTLIN CUMMINGS MOONLIT APPLES by JOHN DRINKWATER THE VALSE by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR MOON OF LOVELINESS by MUHAMMAD AL-MU'TAMID II OF THE REED THAT THE JEWS SET IN OUR SAVIOUR'S HAND by WILLIAM ALABASTER |