The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1836-1851, 1850-05-14
1)oetieal department.
POEM.
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nm. ,,,r,. aeen-seated in each human breast,
g. ohor;sbed Dream, round which we love 10
sonr fondest bopes-an image of the brain;
Same idol Thought, whose outlines stl remain,
Wj;sn. an else fades; as sun-clouds IN the "es''
When ROSY day pales slowly to its rest.
,T;s Gods great gift to man, whose restless NINA
Had else been portionless; nor, may We ma
SE,,mt,,ior,s from our natures common 'a"'
yf,r t;n,nd, a loss, each finder must dePore'
M, Youth alone, when impulse holds 'he sway
And uneurbed Fancy spreads her or'gnl array
Aid passions glow doth auIesSs9E sSs Ear,% an% 0''"'
Hut Ace. and Manhood's prime their tribute pay;
.A,d vhy this la,o since swiftly rolling years
p.,r,v how fast each Vision disappears;
Haua afast each hope, close nestled to the heart,
Snraads forth its wings impatient to depart!
AiasI Mans selfish nature seeks return
For eyery feeble effort; and thus we learn ;,
Great aei;on springs from SELF nausht else '"ou'a
Nav kindle it to warmth save idle Dream
Without Ideal aims, Mans life would De
A pulseless soul, dead Reality!
All wana.rs to the shades of Solitude,
By gentle winds to genter feelings wooed;
Jnw murmnrs fling their music on the ear
And forms of beauty to the mind appear.
Fair Aneel forms, for Beauty IS divine
And wbilst we gaze we worship at her shrine,
And as we worship, with each measured straln'
Wild inspiration leaps through every vein.
AIN hail. sweet Dream! with thoughts OF Beauty
rife, r,o
The canvass glows-the marble bresthes with llie'
Thy shadowed form stands outlined to our gaze,
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What seeks yon watcher of the starry waste,
Where rolleth along in her lazy haste,
The male. faced moon, through each billowy cloud,
Haifwranped in its folds corpse in its shroud!
Are the lines of his destiny>y yritten there!
: Is his fate hung out on the pulseless air
like scroll to be read by some midnight Seer,
With its hopes and its pains, its JOY and It's tear!
r. the horoscope sought! is the teeming womb
OF the Future pierced for glance at the tomb!
No. 4 fofiier Dream now sweeps through his brain,
Aud tinges its cheek with deeP'nipg stain.
There is order and method in every star,
The impulse which hurls the red comet afar,
The phases which marshal each change of the
The shadow which dims and ecipses her noon.
A Wild hope up-springs in the wondering mind,
Adream Of its power-why should it not hnd
5 That law which retains each bright orb in its
sphere, ~. s
And bids the faint ray in the west disappear!
Night after night the starred heavens are scanned
Facts noted and measured. and theories planned,
Til proofs are augmented, and labor uphods
That Science which triumphs, and Nature unioias.
From; morn TN eve, from eve to ruddy morn.
All faint, oertaakcd, perchance with hunger torn,
The Student tolls neglect and pale disease,
Sole ministers attendant on his ease.
What f1i,shes now that wan. detected face!
What passing impulse leaves the lingering trace
Of ro.y healthi Tis midnighfs solemn hour,
And chill the wind which breathes upon each
An unseen presence fills his lonely room:
An inrefiieht dispels the gathering gloom;
He scars in boundless thought-leaves earth be-
hind,
And reiens the monarch of his world-the Mind!
So dreams the POET, and his measures tell
How sweet the Dream, how lasting is its SPELL
Mans elevation Is our common Dream.
Where seek, where find, on Earth nobler theme!
sTis God-like IN each feature, and each aim
Might pinnacle our hopes Of deathless fame.
Tam. TO Won. city Of the sainted dead,
Turn to the Brother, round whose couch is shed,
The ministries Of love-turn to thet tear
OF Grief which finds a friendly solace near
Turn to The shaft, the column, and the pyre!
Sweet o8springs Of our cherished Dream-but
higher,
Aims true Fellowship--ws seek to elevate
Mans fallen nature 70 a loftier state.
To teach him, as he came from God. alone,
TO God his thoughts should turn; whose throne
No levels deck --in whose Eternity
Nanght mingies which may spot its purity.
Then onward still; ;,our battle-cry be heard,
Whist strength remains to shout the noble word
sxsiie n - tSr
Aiirng Iryh, stern Realty!