Ralph Waldo Emerson, comp. (1803–1882). Parnassus: An Anthology of Poetry. 1880.
The Nightingales Death-SongFelicia Dorothea Hemans (17931835)
M
And die away my heart!
The rose, the glorious rose, is gone,
And I, too, will depart.
The waters changed their tone,
And wherefore, in the faded world,
Should music linger on?
And where the flower-cup’s glow?
And where the joy of the dancing leaves,
And the fountain’s laughing flow?
Thou bee, thou lamb at play!
Thou lark, in thy victorious mirth!
Are ye, too, passed away?
With every precious thing,
Upon the last warm southern breeze,
My soul its flight shall wing.
When the days of hope are past,
To watch the fall of leaf by leaf,
To wait the rushing blast.
Sing to the woods, I go!
For me, perchance, in other lands
The glorious rose may blow.
Swell high, then break, my heart!
The rose, the royal rose, is gone,
And I, too, will depart.