Alexandria Gazette & Advertiser

POETRY.

From the Boston Palladium, Nov. 5.

TO THE YELLOW LEAF.

"Sic transit Gloria Mundi."

Pale harbinger of Nature's fate,
I grieve to think my pride is past;
That such should be thy transient date,
So fallen and withered in the blast!

So pass our joys, my bosom sighs
As autumn's foliage fades around;
Ev'n so, each rustling leaf replies,
That sweeps resistless o'er the ground.

So passeth—Grandeur's nodding plume,
That waves above th' ignoble crowd;
Its march is rapid to the tomb,
While yet resound their plaudits loud.

So passeth—Flatt'ry's vapour breath;—
The laurel wreaths the Hero wears,
But flourish —fann'd by sighs of death,
And blossom-bath'd in orphan's tears.

So passeth—Youth's aspiring sigh,
That fondly dwells on days to come;
Soon the vain wish that soars on high,
Is hush'd and answer'd in the tomb.

So passeth—Wealth's deceitful gloss,
That mocks the heart to hope alive,
With promise form'd of dust and dross;
Still off'ring what it cannot give.

So passeth—Beauty's roseate smile,
That buds when only life is new;
Cheers the dark path of Care awhile,
Then fades before th' admiring view.

So passeth—Love's enchanting kiss,
Its pleasing pain its rapt'rous thrill—
Soon dies the transient taste of bliss——
That cheek is pale—that heart is still!

So passeth—Pleasure's rainbow hour;—
Not long its varied colors last;
The hov'ring clouds collect their pow'r,
And whelm its beauties in the blast.

So passeth—Grief's decaying form,
The murmur wrung from want and pain—
For on the turf that wards the storm,
It pours its cruel force in vain.

So passeth too—The Poet's fire!—
Where autumn's yellow branches wave,
His song forgot, the silent lyre
Rests on the child of fancy's grave!

So passeth—Hope's delusive tale.
Profuse of Joys—that ne'er shall come;
She weaves her treach'rous garland frail,
Of flowers that perish in the bloom.

So passeth—Sorrow's cup of tears,
When her lone child hath gone to rest,
Beneath the turf Affection rears.
A refuge for the wounded breast.

So passeth—All that earth can boast
To own—confer—create—procure;
All the warm heart can value most,
And all its weakness can endure.

Emblem of life! As thou shalt shine,
And flourish green and bright no more;
So Man who reads his fate in thine,
Must perish when his spring is o'er!

When Time shall shroud himself in gloom,
On Nature's last and darkest night,
A hand unseen shall on her tomb
"Sic transit Gloria Mundi" write!

MONTGOMERIE.