Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
England: Vols. I–IV. 1876–79.
Greenwich Hospital
By William Lisle Bowles (1762–1850)C
Of cold, of midnight watchings, or the roar
Of Ocean tossing on his restless bed!
Come to these peaceful seats, ye who have bled
For honor, who have traversed the great flood,
Or on the battle’s front with stern eye stood,
When rolled its thunder, and the billows red
Oft closed, with sudden flashings, o’er the dead.
O, heavy are the sorrows that beset
Old age! and hard it is,—hard to forget
The sunshine of our youth, our manhood’s pride!
But here, O aged men! ye may abide
Secure, and see the last light on the wave
Of Time, which wafts you silent to your grave;
Like the calm evening ray, that smiles serene
Upon the tranquil Thames, and cheers the sinking scene.