[Page 153]

ABSENCE.

OCTOBER 26, 1791.

1 How shall I cheat the heavy hours, of thee
2 Deprived, of thy kind looks and converse sweet,
3 Now that the waving grove the dark storms beat,
4 And wintry winds sad sounding o'er the lea,
91 Summer-Lees, near Knoyle.
5 Scatter the sallow leaf! I would believe,
6 Thou, at this hour, with tearful tenderness
7 Dost muse on absent images, and press
8 In thought my hand, and say: Oh do not grieve,
9 Friend of my heart! at wayward fortune's power;
10 One day we shall be happy, and each hour[Page 154]
11 Of pain forget, cheered by the summer ray.
12 These thoughts beguile my sorrow for thy loss,
13 And, as the aged pines their dark heads toss,
14 Oft steal the sense of solitude away.
15 So am I sadly soothed, yet do I cast
16 A wishful glance upon the seasons past,
17 And think how different was the happy tide,
18 When thou, with looks of love, wert smiling by my side.

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Title (in Source Edition): ABSENCE. OCTOBER 26, 1791.
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Bowles, William Lisle, 1762-1850. The Poetical Works of William Lisle Bowles, Vol. I. With Memoir, Critical Dissertation, and Explanatory Notes by George Gilfillan. Edinburgh: James Nichol, 9 North Bank Street..., 1855, pp. 153-154.  (Page images digitized from a copy held at the University of California Libraries.)

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