The New Hampshire Gazette

POETRY

From the Utica Observer,

AFFECTION,—BY S. BARKER.

O cast thou not
Affection from thee in the bitter world
Hold to thy heart this only treasure fast.

Guard well affection's wreath,
Cast not the flow'r from thee,
Nor suffer not a blighting breath,
To dim its purity.

'Tis as the dew of love
That never should depart.

Till the pure spirit soars above
Or powerless is the heart.

Ah, hold that treasure fast,
Guard well that flow'r here
For it will live in sorrow's blast,
If watered by a tear,
And to the heart 'twill cling
Like tendrils of a vine;
Or like a heav'n inspiring thing.
Its brightness here will shine.

Then gently touch its leaf,
For once its beauty's gone
No power on earth can bring
Relief:
No art restore its form
No, not the scalding tear,
That flows from sorrow's eye,
Can bring again its blossom here
Or wake the healing sigh.

Hope not to forgo its chains,
When all thy joys decline;
Hope not to call it back again,
When life's last lamp in thine,

Oh! rather hope to wake
The silence of the grave—
Or bid the crested worm forsake
The dark and loathsome cave.

Ah, guard affection's wreath,
And watch its blossoms here
It prays for us in ev'ry breath—
In ev'ry hallowed tear....

For when all joys decline,
Or youth hath lost its bloom
This flow'r around the heart, will twine,
In desolation's gloom.

Cast not the gem from thee,
For when all hope is past,
It will abide in all its purity,
To cheer our hearts at last,

'Tis like a blessed ray.
Seen through the clouds dark form:
It drives all sorrow far away,
And stays the blighting storm.

It blunts death's barbed dart—
A flow'r from above—
The rainbow of the broken heart
The cov'nant of love,

Then guard that flow'r's form
Its bloom may live for years—
To be our refuge in the storm
Our love in life's tears.