68. Reverses
|
{125}
WHEN mirth is full and free, |
| Some sudden gloom shall be; |
| When haughty power mounts high, |
| The Watcher's axe is nigh. |
| All growth has bound; when greatest found, |
| It hastes to die. |
When the rich town, that long |
| Has lain its huts among, |
| Uprears its pageants vast, |
| And vaunts—it shall not last! |
| Bright tints that shine, are but a sign |
| Of summer past. |
And when thine eye surveys, |
| With fond adoring gaze, {126} |
| And yearning heart, thy friend— |
| Love to its grave doth tend. |
| All gifts below, save Truth, but grow |
| Towards an end. |
Valletta.
January 30, 1833. |