Poems, supressed poems | Page 6

to me the one whom I have loved so well,
And love with
fondness to the grave,
Who merits in my heart forevermore to
dwell,--
The best of friends in Rieger [64] gave.
'Tis true thy breath doth rock the leaves upon the trees, And sadly make
their charms decay;
Gently they fall:--and swift, as morning
phantasies
With those who waken, fly away.
'Tis true that on thy track the fleecy spoiler hastes, Who makes all
Nature's chords resound
With discord dull, and turns the plains and
groves to wastes, So that they sadly mourn around.

See how the gloomy forms of years, as on they roll,
Each joyous
banquet overthrows,
When, in uplifted hand, from out the foaming
bowl,
Joy's noble purple brightly flows!
See how they disappear, when friends sweet converse hold, And loving
wander arm-in-arm;
And, to revenge themselves on winter's north
wind cold, Upon each other's breasts grow warm!
And when spring's children smile upon us once again,
When all the
youthful splendor bright,
When each melodious note of each sweet
rapturous strain Awakens with it each delight:
How joyous then the stream that our whole soul pervades! What life
from out our glances pours!
Sweet Philomela's song, resounding
through the glades, Ourselves, our youthful strength restores!
Oh, may this whisper breathe--(let Rieger bear in mind The storm by
which in age we're bent!)--
His guardian angel, when the evening's
star so kind
Gleams softly from the firmament!
In silence be he led to yonder thundering height,
And guided be his
eye, that he,
In valley and on plain, may see his friends aright.
And
that, with growing ecstacy,
On yonder holy spot, when he their number tells,
He may experience
friendship's bliss,
Now first unveiled, until with pride his bosom
swells, Conscious that all their love is his.
Then will the distant voice be loudly heard to say:
"And G--, too, is a
friend of thine!
When silvery locks no more around his temples play,

G-- still will be a friend of thine!"
"E'en yonder"--and now in his eye the crystal tear
Will gleam--"e'en
yonder he will love!
Love thee too, when his heart, in yonder
spring-like sphere, Linked on to thine, can rapture prove!"

EPITAPH.
Here lies a man cut off by fate
Too soon for all good men;
For
sextons he died late--too late
For those who wield the pen.
QUIRL.
You tell me that you feel surprise
Because Quirl's paper's grown in
size;
And yet they're crying through the street
That there's a rise in
bread and meat.
THE PLAGUE.
A PHANTASY.
Plague's contagious murderous breath
God's strong might with terror
reveals,
As through the dreary valley of death
With its brotherhood
fell it steals!
Fearfully throbs the anguish-struck heart,
Horribly quivers each nerve
in the frame;
Frenzy's wild laughs the torment proclaim,
Howling
convulsions disclose the fierce smart.
Fierce delirium writhes upon the bed--
Poisonous mists hang o'er the
cities dead;
Men all haggard, pale, and wan,
To the shadow-realm
press on.
Death lies brooding in the humid air,
Plague, in dark
graves, piles up treasures fair,
And its voice exultingly raises.

Funeral silence--churchyard calm,
Rapture change to dread alarm.--

Thus the plague God wildly praises!
MONUMENT OF MOOR THE ROBBER. [65]
'Tis ended!
Welcome! 'tis ended
Oh thou sinner majestic,
All thy terrible part is now played!
Noble abased one!
Thou, of thy race beginner and ender!
Wondrous

son of her fearfulest humor,
Mother Nature's blunder sublime!
Through cloud-covered night a radiant gleam!
Hark how behind him
the portals are closing!
Night's gloomy jaws veil him darkly in shade!

Nations are trembling,
At his destructive splendor afraid!
Thou
art welcome! 'Tis ended!
Oh thou sinner majestic,
All thy terrible
part is now played!
Crumble,--decay
In the cradle of wide-open heaven!
Terrible sight
to each sinner that breathes,
When the hot thirst for glory
Raises its barriers over against the dread
throne!
See! to eternity shame has consigned thee!
To the bright stars of fame
Thou hast clambered aloft, on the
shoulders of shame!
Yet time will come when shame will crumble
beneath thee, When admiration at length will be thine!
With moist eye, by thy sepulchre dreaded,
Man has passed onward--
Rejoice in the tears that man sheddeth,
Oh thou soul of the judged!
With moist eye, by the sepulchre
dreaded,
Lately a maiden passed onward,
Hearing the fearful announcement

Told of thy deeds by the herald of marble;
And the maiden--rejoice
thee! rejoice thee!
Sought not to dry up her tears.
Far away I stood as the pearls were
falling,
And I shouted: Amalia!
Oh, ye youths! Oh, ye youths!--
With the dangerous lightning of
genius

Learn to play with more caution!
Wildly his bit champs the charger
of Phoebus;
Though, 'neath the reins of his master,
More gently he rocks earth and
heaven,
Reined by a child's hand, he kindles
Earth and heaven in blazing
destruction!
Obstinate Phaeton perished,
Buried beneath the sad wreck.
Child of the heavenly genius!
Glowing bosom all panting for action!

Art thou charmed by the tale of my robber?
Glowing like time was