Martinsburg Gazette

POETRY.

From "Friendship's Offering" for 1841.

WERE WE NOT HAPPY?

Were we not happy in our summer dreams?
In noontide wanderings over hill and glen,
When flowers were steeped in rich and fragrant dews,
To yield the incense while we worshipped them:
When vernal skies were floating o'er the Earth,
And golden beams were lighting on the sea;
Were we not happy in those blissful days?
The brightest pages of our memory?

Were we not happy in those glowing halls,
Where music woke her deep melodious tone--
Where lustrous eyes in wit and beauty beamed,
And forms of loveliness were seen alone;
When murmured voices breathed the sunny song
Of some far land to bind us in a spell:
Were we not happy in those joyous times,
Ere Sorrow's robe around our footsteps fell.

Were we not happy in the sacred fane,
That consecrated ground we trod?
The choral hymns, the penitential prayer
Brought to our hearts the presence of a God
Where gorgeous windows lent a magic light;
Where crests and bannered trophies round us lay;
Were we not happy in that holy shrine,
Lit with its glimmering lamps and rich array?

Shall we be happy, dearest, when the flowers
Of youth are withered, and the summer skies,
No longer fraught with poetry and life,
Lose their sweet influence in our fading eyes.
Shall we be happy on the bed of death?
With nought to cheer our sinking hearts, or save:
Look up—a richer, surer hope is ours;
We shall be happy far beyond the grave.