Classic Poem

It was as if he had been cast
Alone upon a desert shore,
Silent but for the tempest's blast
Deathlike but for the ocean's roar.

It is as if at once he found
To minister unto him there
One who made all enchanted ground
A gentle spirit of the air.

It was as if his heart had died
And turned his bosom to a tomb
Where young affection hope and pride
Lay wrapped in everlasting gloom.

It is as if an angel came
And rolled the marble weight away
Relighted the extinguished flame
And called it back to life and day.

It was as if the fiery wind
Over his life and thoughts had blown
With withering breath — and left behind
But wrecks the soul's Simoom had strewn.

It is as if Armida's art
Restoring all that was destroyed
Watering with tears the wasted heart
Had filled with flowers the aching void.