Occasioned by a Situation in a Romance

Mary, the moon is sleeping on thy grave,And on the turf thy lover sad is kneeling,The big tear in his eye.--Mary, awake,From thy dark house arise, and bless his sightOn the pale moonbeam gliding. Soft, and low.Pour on the silver ear of night thy tale,Thy whisper'd tale of comfort and of love,To soothe thy Edward's lorn, distracted soul,And cheer his breaking heart.--Come, as thou didst,When o'er the barren moors the night wind howl'd,And the deep thunders shook the ebon throneOf the startled night!--O! then, as lone reclining,I listen'd sadly to the dismal storm,Thou on the lambent lightnings wild careeringDidst strike my moody eye;--dead pale thou wert,Yet passing lovely.--Thou didst smile upon me,And oh! thy voice it rose so musical,Betwixt the hollow pauses of the storm,That at the sound the winds forgot to rave,And the stern demon of the tempest, charm'd,Sunk on his rocking throne to still repose,Lock'd in the arms of silence.

Spirit of her!My only love! O! now again arise,And let once more thine aëry accents fallSoft on my listening ear. The night is calm,The gloomy willows wave in sinking cadenceWith the stream that sweeps below. Divinely swellingOn the still air, the distant waterfallMingles its melody;--and, high above,The pensive empress of the solemn night,Fitful, emerging from the rapid clouds,Shows her chaste face in the meridian sky.No wicked elves upon the Warlock-knollDare now assemble at their mystic revels.It is a night when, from their primrose beds,The gentle ghosts of injured innocentsAre known to rise and wander on the breeze,Or take their stand by the oppressor's couch,And strike grim terror to his guilty soul.The spirit of my love might now awake,And hold its custom'd converse.

Mary, lo!Thy Edward kneels upon thy verdant grave,And calls upon thy name. The breeze that blowsOn his wan cheek will soon sweep over himIn solemn music a funereal dirge,Wild and most sorrowful. His cheek is pale,The worm that prey'd upon thy youthful bloomIt canker'd green on his. Now lost he stands,The ghost of what he was, and the cold dew,Which bathes his aching temples, gives sure omenOf speedy dissolution. Mary, soonThy love will lay his pallid cheek to thine,And sweetly will he sleep with thee in death.