Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry. 1904.
Poems of Sentiment: III. MemoryVerses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk
William Cowper (1731–1800)I
My right there is none to dispute;
From the centre all round to the sea,
I am lord of the fowl and the brute.
O Solitude! where are the charms
That sages have seen in thy face?
Better dwell in the midst of alarms
Than reign in this horrible place.
I must finish my journey alone,
Never hear the sweet music of speech,—
I start at the sound of my own.
The beasts that roam over the plain
My form with indifference see;
They are so unacquainted with man,
Their tameness is shocking to me.
Divinely bestowed upon man!
O, had I the wings of a dove,
How soon would I taste you again!
My sorrows I then might assuage
In the ways of religion and truth,—
Might learn from the wisdom of age,
And be cheered by the sallies of youth.
Resides in that heavenly word!—
More precious than silver and gold,
Or all that this earth can afford;
But the sound of the church-going bell
These valleys and rocks never heard,
Never sighed at the sound of a knell,
Or smiled when a Sabbath appeared.
Convey to this desolate shore
Some cordial, endearing report
Of a land I shall visit no more!
My friends,—do they now and then send
A wish or a thought after me?
O, tell me I yet have a friend,
Though a friend I am never to see.
Compared with the speed of its flight,
The tempest itself lags behind,
And the swift-wingèd arrows of light.
When I think of my own native land,
In a moment I seem to be there;
But, alas! recollection at hand
Soon hurries me back to despair.
The beast is laid down in his lair;
Even here is a season of rest,
And I to my cabin repair.
There ’s mercy in every place,
And mercy—encouraging thought!—
Gives even affliction a grace,
And reconciles man to his lot.