Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ODE TO FRIENDSHIP, by ROYALL TYLER


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ODE TO FRIENDSHIP, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Oh, thou whose power to sooth the heart
Last Line: Give me one friend to mourn me in the grave.
Alternate Author Name(s): Old Simon; S.
Subject(s): Consolation; Friendship


OH, thou whose power to sooth the heart,
When bleeding in distress,
To pour in Sorrow's wounds a balm,
The grief-worn troubled breast to calm,
And dull the point of Care's corroding dart,
With rapture all confess;
Hail lovely Friendship, source of social joy,
A youthful Muse this tribute pays
To thee, in humble, artless lays,
Daughter of Heav'n, whose pleasures never cloy!

Blest with thy smiles to soften Misery's frown,
The rustick tenant of the lowly shed,
At eve with thee, to chase fatigue away,
And in the joys forget the busy day,
Lies far more happy in his rush-strew'd bed
Than sceptr'd majesty who rests on down,
Whose flattered will obsequious wait
The sycophants of pomp and state,
But not one faithful friend!
For on the crown and purple robe alone
And not on brilliant pain that fills the throne
The venal crowd of parasites attend.

If doomed the stings of adverse fate to feel,
And all the pangs of each concordant ill,
Which they who thread the vale of life must bear;
If Health affrighted flies my bed of care,
Give one sweet maid, I ask no more,
A friend to cheer life's dreary hour,
And when oppressed with poignant grief,
To give my woes a sweet relief
And soothe my anguished breast;
Give me to whom I can impart
The smiles and sorrows of my heart;
Let others be more blest.
And when no power my fleeting life can save,
Give me one friend to mourn me in the grave.





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