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Poem
December 2, 1823
Palladium Of Virginia And The Pacific Monitor
Lewisburg, Greenbrier County, West Virginia
What is this article about?
A reflective poem on the inevitable sorrows and thorns hidden in life's joys, including disappointment, loss of friends and family, and mortality, urging acceptance of these pains.
Clipping
OCR Quality
95%
Excellent
Full Text
FOR THE FRANKLIN GAZETTE
THE THORN OF LIFE.
BY WILLIAM B. TAPPAN.
We see, in life's wide wilderness
Some plants of fair and varied mien;
Love's rose springs here; while there, distress
The night shade rank, is seen.
With choicest care, we cull the flowers
That breathe of beauty and of morn;
But while the banquet charms the eye
We feel the secret thorn.
And who is free from sorrow's thorn?
Joy's sparkling beverage dost thou sip
Thou may'st; but soon the poisonous dreg
Shall meet thy quivering lip.
Thy morning, gay, perchance, hath shone,
And Hope, exulting, plumed its flight
At noon, the stern destroyer came
With disappointment's blight.
Hast friends? thou hast; yet the last sun.
That saw thy bliss, hath seen the dust,
Whose cruel fang shall pierce thy friend
And wring thy fondly heart.
Thy wife, thy offspring; whence that sigh
Too well I trace the secret tear;
For thou, who wife and offspring knew
Hath wept upon their bier.
Love hath its chill, and mirth the sigh,
And who may boast a cloudless morn?
Mortal! that cull'st the flowers of life.
Think not to 'scape the thorn.
THE THORN OF LIFE.
BY WILLIAM B. TAPPAN.
We see, in life's wide wilderness
Some plants of fair and varied mien;
Love's rose springs here; while there, distress
The night shade rank, is seen.
With choicest care, we cull the flowers
That breathe of beauty and of morn;
But while the banquet charms the eye
We feel the secret thorn.
And who is free from sorrow's thorn?
Joy's sparkling beverage dost thou sip
Thou may'st; but soon the poisonous dreg
Shall meet thy quivering lip.
Thy morning, gay, perchance, hath shone,
And Hope, exulting, plumed its flight
At noon, the stern destroyer came
With disappointment's blight.
Hast friends? thou hast; yet the last sun.
That saw thy bliss, hath seen the dust,
Whose cruel fang shall pierce thy friend
And wring thy fondly heart.
Thy wife, thy offspring; whence that sigh
Too well I trace the secret tear;
For thou, who wife and offspring knew
Hath wept upon their bier.
Love hath its chill, and mirth the sigh,
And who may boast a cloudless morn?
Mortal! that cull'st the flowers of life.
Think not to 'scape the thorn.
What sub-type of article is it?
Ode
What themes does it cover?
Moral Virtue
Death Mourning
What keywords are associated?
Thorn Of Life
Sorrow
Disappointment
Loss Of Friends
Death Of Family
Moral Reflection
What entities or persons were involved?
By William B. Tappan.
Poem Details
Title
The Thorn Of Life.
Author
By William B. Tappan.
Subject
Life's Sorrows And Thorns
Form / Style
Rhymed Quatrains
Key Lines
And Who Is Free From Sorrow's Thorn?
Mortal! That Cull'st The Flowers Of Life.
Think Not To 'Scape The Thorn.