My days have been so wondrous free, <br />The little birds that fly <br />With careless ease from tree to tree, <br />Were but as bless'd as I. <br /> <br />Ask gliding waters, if a tear <br />Of mine increas'd their stream? <br />Or ask the flying gales, if e'er <br />I lent one sigh to them? <br /> <br />But now my former days retire, <br />And I'm by beauty caught; <br />The tender chains of sweet desire <br />Are fix'd upon my thought. <br /> <br />Ye nightingales, ye twisting pines! <br />Ye swains that haunt the grove! <br />Ye gentle echoes, breezy winds! <br />Ye close retreats of love! <br /> <br />With all of nature, all of art, <br />Assist the dear design; <br />Oh teach a young, unpractic'd heart <br />To make my Nancy mine! <br /> <br />The very thought of change I hate, <br />As much as of despair; <br />Nor ever covet to be great, <br />Unless it be for her. <br /> <br />'Tis true, the passion in my mind <br />Is mix'd with soft distress; <br />Yet while the fair I love is kind, <br />I cannot wish it less.<br /><br />Thomas Parnell<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/my-days-have-been-so-wondrous-free/
