HERE, stranger, rest thee! from the neighbouring towers Of Oxford, haply thou hast forced thy bark Up this strong stream, whose broken waters here Send pleasant murmurs to the listening sense: Rest thee beneath this hazel; its green boughs Afford a grateful shade, and to the eye Fair is its fruit: stranger! the seemly fruit Is worthless, all is hollowness within, For on the grave of Rosamund it grows! Young, lovely, and beloved, she fell seduced, And here retired to wear her wretched age In earnest prayer and bitter penitence, Despised and self-despising: think of her, Young man, and learn to reverence womankind! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE ANGELUS; HEARD AT THE MISSION DOLORES IN SAN FRANCISCO, 1868 by FRANCIS BRET HARTE ODE ON MELANCHOLY by JOHN KEATS UNDERWOODS: BOOK 1: 6. A VISIT FROM THE SEA by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON THE LOVE SONNETS OF PROTEUS: 60. THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT SONNET by ROBERT SEYMOUR BRIDGES AN INVITATION TO THE COUNTRY by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT |