WHEN fragrant gales and summer show'rs <br />Call'd forth the sweetly scented flow'rs; <br />When ripen'd sheaves of golden grain, <br />Strew'd their rich treasures o'er the plain; <br />When the full grape did nectar yield, <br />In tepid drops of purple hue; <br />When the thick grove, and thirsty field, <br />Drank the soft show'r and bloom'd a-new; <br />O then my joyful heart did say, <br />"Sure this is Nature's Holy-day!" <br /> <br />But when the yellow leaf did fade, <br />And every gentle flow'r decay'd; <br />When whistling winds, and drenching rain, <br />Swept with rude force the naked plain; <br />When o'er the desolated scene, <br />I saw the drifted snow descend; <br />And sadness darken'd all the green, <br />And Nature's triumphs seem'd to end; <br />O! then, my mourning heart did say, <br />"Thus Youth shall vanish, Life decay." <br /> <br />When Beauty blooms, and Fortune smiles, <br />And wealth the easy breast beguiles; <br />When pleasure from her downy wings, <br />Her soft bewitching incense flings; <br />THEN, Friends look kindand round the heart <br />The brightest flames of passion move, <br />False Flatt'ry's soothing strains impart <br />The warmest Friendshipfondest Love; <br />But when capricious FORTUNE flies, <br />Then FRIENDSHIP fades;and PASSION dies.<br /><br />Mary Darby Robinson<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/stanzas-6/
