Poems and Essays

by Joseph Howe


 

HOME.


 

A spot there is, from public gaze retired,
Sought but by few, by fewer still admired,
Where Feeling’s holy fountains sparkling play,
Illum’d by Reason’s calm, yet brilliant ray;
Where tired spirit, wearied and oppressed
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Far from the crowd may find its wished for rest; [Page 73]
Where the heart’s purest, best affections spring,
Round which the siren Hope, delights to cling;
Where Genius loves his valued stores to shed,
And Fancy’s rich, yet simple flowers, are spread;
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Where Dissipation, with her frenzied mien,
And sick’ning, tasteless joys, is never seen;
To which, if sorrow comes, a sacred charm
Pours in its deepest wounds a healing balm;
Where Disappointment, robbed of half his care,
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Forgets to point the pathway to Despair;
Where, if a tear at times should dim the eye,
It beams the brighter when the tear is dry;
Where, like the Indian altar’s steady flame,
Love’s fire burns on, from youth to age the same;
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So blest a spot, tho’ o’er the world we roam,
We ne’er can hope to find, as Home, sweet Home. [Page 74]