Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, VERSES, ON THE DEATH OF HENRIETTA O'NEILL, by CHARLOTTE SMITH


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

VERSES, ON THE DEATH OF HENRIETTA O'NEILL, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Like a poor ghost the night I seek
Last Line: My harriet! -- may like thine be cold!
Alternate Author Name(s): Smith, Charlotte Turner
Subject(s): O'neill, Henrietta (1758-1793)


Like a poor ghost the night I seek;
Its hollow winds repeat my sighs;
The cold dews mingle on my cheek
With tears that wander from mine eyes.

The thorns that still my couch molest,
Have robb'd these heavy eyes of sleep;
But tho' deprived of tranquil rest,
I here at least am free to weep.

Twelve times the moon, that rises red
O'er yon tall wood of shadowy pine,
Has fill'd her orb, since low was laid
My Harriet! that sweet form of thine!

While each sad month, as slow it past,
Brought some new sorrow to deplore;
Some grief more poignant than the last,
But thou canst calm those griefs no more.

No more thy friendship soothes to rest
This wearied spirit tempest-tost;
The cares that weigh upon my breast
Are doubly felt since thou art lost.

Bright visions of ideal grace
That the young poet's dreams inflame,
Were not more lovely than thy face;
Were not more perfect than thy frame.

Wit, that no sufferings could impair,
Was thine, and thine those mental powers
Of force to chase the fiends that tear
From Fancy's hands her budding flowers.

O'er what, my angel friend, thou wert,
Dejected Memory loves to mourn;
Regretting still that tender heart,
Now withering in a distant urn!

But ere that wood of shadowy pine
Twelve times shall yon full orb behold,
This sickening heart, that bleeds for thine,
My Harriet! -- may like thine be cold!





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