Classic Poem

BY THE SAME .

Friendship, sweet balm to ev'ry bleeding wound,
Sweet social pow'r, on earth but seldom found,
From heav'n, like some phaenomenon appears,
To soothe pale grief, and stem her gushing tears.

Yet stays not here, but, like refreshing show'rs,
Where'er she goes, the healing balsam pours;
And teaches the soft infant's lisping tongue
To bless the donor as he goes along.

Yet Flattery oft assumes fair Friendship's name,
And dwells full oft with folly, wealth, and fame;
But, when distress appears, the phantom flies,
And from the ruin'd mansion turns her eyes.

When fortune frowns, if Friendship still remains,
She soothes our woes, and mitigates our pains;
Her bounty wafts us to some friendly shore,
Where pleasure reigns, and misery is no more.