Classic Poem

Friendship! let thy myrtle twine
My flowing locks; and at thy shrine,
While I laud thy power, inspire,
Rule, and animate my lyre.
Thee, by gracious Heaven design'd
To soothe the suff'rings of mankind,
In climes of happiness above,
Virtue bore to gentle Love.
Virtue, in thy early youth,
Nerv'd thy soul with dauntless truth;
And steady vigour to despise
Fortune and her changeful skies.
But Love conferr'd th' engaging air,
That calms the frenzy of despair;
Affections that in secret glow,
And tears that sympathetic flow.
At thy birth th' Angelic choir
Smote with joy th' according lyre;
And th' etherial mansions rung
With the rapture of their song.
Ne'er in Vice's tawdry bower,
Deck'd with many a gorgeous flower;
Where noisy Folly laughs; the while
Squint Suspicion strives to smile;
And Anguish, an envenom'd snake,
Lurks beneath the tangling brake;
And conscious Shame, with barbed dart,
Ere long to probe the cancer'd heart;
And Infamy, foul imp, at last
To blow th' annihilating blast,
And from her harrowing trumpet roar,
That peace and honour are no more;
Ne'er in Vice's tawdry bower,
Deck'd with many a gorgeous flower,
Goddess of the soul serene!
Is thy lenient aspect seen.
Yet, with counterfeited bloom,
Cunning would thy form assume;
Would with blandishment and song
Captivate the witless throng.
But should Fortune frown, and leave
Those who homag'd her to grieve,
Scornful, like her, of tears and sighs,
The counterfeit of Friendship flies.
So the clouds of seeming gold
Round the pomp of Phaebus roll'd,
Blaze with his effulgent ray,
And promise to prolong the day:
Vain promise! he declines, and lo!
Frowning in the garb of woe,
The fen-born vapours scowl, and lour
With horror, on the lonely hour.
Ne'er with flatt'ring words and vain
Wilt thou intoxicate the brain;
Nor those who in thy truth confide,
Betray to vanity and pride.
Thy counsels vindicate the soul
From Folly's tyrannous controul:
For Discretion's mystic braid,
With many a figur'd gem inlaid,
And gifted with mysterious force,
To rein Imagination's course,
And Passion's headlong tide arrest,
With graceful cincture binds thy waist.
Thy counsels vindicate the soul
From Folly's tyrannous controul;
Purify Ambition's fire;
Manly purposes inspire;
Till th' ingenuous mind atchieve
Deeds that shall for ever live.
Friendship, let thy myrtle twine
My flowing locks; and at thy shrine,
While I laud thy power, impart
Comfort to my aching heart.
In thine azure robe array'd,
Girt with thy mysterious braid,
With lenient smile and counsel sage,
The sorrows of my soul assuage.
" Alas! what hapless would I say! "
Withhold the splendour of thy ray!
I dare not, in this earthly frame,
Encounter thy meridian flame.
Too strong th' unmitigated light
For a weak mortal's trembling sight.
But rather let thy spirit find,
And influence some congenial mind!
O rather, to some youthful heart,
Thy truth and tenderness impart!
On C — 's ingenuous soul descend,
And let me hail, and call him Friend!