[Page 151]

The CHANGE.

1 POOR River, now thou'rt almost dry,
2 What Nymph, or Swain, will near thee lie?
3 Since brought, alas! to sad Decay,
4 What Flocks, or Herds, will near thee stay?
5 The Swans, that sought thee in thy Pride,
6 Now on new Streams forgetful ride:
7 And Fish, that in thy Bosom lay,
8 Chuse in more prosp'rous Floods to play.
9 All leave thee, now thy Ebb appears,
10 To waste thy sad Remains in Tears;
11 Nor will thy mournful Murmurs heed.
12 Fly, wretched Stream, with all thy speed,
13 Amongst those solid Rocks thy Griefs bestow;
14 For Friends, like those alas! thou ne'er did'st know.
15 And thou, poor Sun! that sat'st on high;
16 But late, the Splendour of the Sky;
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17 What Flow'r, tho' by thy Influence born,
18 Now Clouds prevail, will tow'rds thee turn '
19 Now Darkness sits upon thy Brow,
20 What Persian Votary will bow?
21 What River will her Smiles reflect,
22 Now that no Beams thou can'st direct?
23 By watry Vapours overcast,
24 Who thinks upon thy Glories past?
25 If present Light, nor Heat we get,
26 Unheeded thou may'st rise, and set.
27 Not all the past can one Adorer keep,
28 Fall, wretched Sun, to the more faithful Deep
29 Nor do thou, lofty Structure! boast,
30 Since undermin'd by Time and Frost:
31 Since thou canst no Reception give,
32 In untrod Meadows thou may'st live.
33 None from his ready Road will turn,
34 With thee thy wretched Change to mourn.
35 Not the soft Nights, or chearful Days
36 Thou hast bestow'd, can give thee Praise.
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37 No lusty Tree that near thee grows,
38 (Tho' it beneath thy Shelter rose)
39 Will to thy Age a Staff become.
40 Fail, wretched Building! to thy Tomb.
41 Thou, and thy painted Roofs, in Ruin mixt,
42 Fall to the Earth, for That alone is fixt.
43 The same, poor Man, the same must be
44 Thy Fate, now Fortune frowns on thee.
45 Her Favour ev'ry one pursues,
46 And losing Her, thou all must lose.
47 No Love, sown in thy prosp'rous Days,
48 Can Fruit in this cold Season raise:
49 No Benefit, by thee conferr'd,
50 Can in this time of Storms be heard.
51 All from thy troubl'd Waters run;
52 Thy stooping Fabrick all Men shun.
53 All do thy clouded Looks decline,
54 As if thou ne'er did'st on them shine.
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55 O wretched Man! to other World's repair;
56 For Faith and Gratitude are only there.

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Title (in Source Edition): The CHANGE.
Author: Anne Finch (née Kingsmill), countess of Winchilsea
Themes: hopelessness; politics
Genres: lament

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Source edition

Winchilsea, Anne Kingsmill Finch, Countess of, 1661-1720. Miscellany poems, on several occasions: Written by the Right Honble Anne, Countess of Winchilsea. London: printed for J. B. and sold by Benj. Tooke, William Taylor, and James Round, 1713, pp. 151-154. [8],390p. ; 8⁰. (ESTC T94539; Foxon pp. 274-5; OTA K076314.000) (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [Buxton 100].)

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The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, this ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.

Other works by Anne Finch (née Kingsmill), countess of Winchilsea