Alexandria Daily Gazette, Commercial & Political

ODE TO MAY.
Hail, beauteous May, thou verdant queen of spring;
Whose fragrant sweets, mov'd ancient bards to sing;
At thy approach the flow'ry meads look gay,
And feather'd songsters chaunt their warbling lay:
The swelling buds disclose the op'ning flowers;
And tender plants rise by thy genial show'rs;
Thy roseate morn the pearly dew displays,
The gentle zephyrs fan the noon-tide rays.
Sweet gardens bloom, in thy prolific reign,
While grass and herbage deck the verdant plain;
The blossom'd orchard dress'd in rich array,
And roses breathe the sweet perfumes of May.
The waving forests, clad in native green,
Add pleasing lustre to the rural scene ;
While variegated lawns and flow'ry vales,
Bear fragrant odours through the gentle gales
But, ah! how soon thy vernal beauties fade;
Emblem of youth, in all thy charms pourtray'd;
Though youth and beauty wither and decay, :
Virtue hath charms that never fade away.