Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
England: Vols. I–IV. 1876–79.
On Visiting Cowpers Garden and Summer-house at Olney
By Jane Taylor (17831824)A
These roses, did they bloom for him?
Trod he these walks with thoughtful pace?
Passed he amid these borders trim?
Methinks it seems for such a guest!
Why rise not columns, dome-bespread,
By art’s elaborate fingers drest?
Her fabrics rear, her temples gild;
But Genius, where he seeks a home,
Must send for Nature’s self to build.
This homely roof, this rustic fane,
With playful tendrils twining round,
And woodbines peeping at the pane;
Where clouds of golden radiance skim,
Those ranging trees of varied hue,—
These were the sights that solaced him.
A feeling steals, so undefined;
In vain we seek to give it speech,—
’T is silent homage paid to mind.
On this low seat, reclining thus;
Ye garden breezes, as ye float
Why bear ye no such thoughts to us?
With breath of heaven; or did he toil
In precious mines of sparkling thought
Concealed beneath the curious soil?
Rich treasures from the honeyed dew?
Or are there here celestial springs
Of living waters, whence he drew?
Where even Nature failed to cheer,
Has witnessed oft his deep distress,
And precious drops have fallen here!
The consecrated dust to cover;
But Nature smiles and weeps, by turns,
In memory of her fondest lover.