John G. C. Brainard (1796-1828). On a Late Loss. Samuel Kettell, ed. 1829. Specimens of American Poetry

Samuel Kettell, ed. Specimens of American Poetry. 1829.

On a Late Loss

By John G. C. Brainard (1796–1828)


THE BREATH 1 of air that stirs the harp’s soft string,
Floats on to join the whirlwind and the storm;
The drops of dew exhaled from flowers of spring,
Rise and assume the tempest’s threatening form;
The first mild beam of morning’s glorious sun,	5
Ere night, is sporting in the lightning’s flash;
And the smooth stream, that flows in quiet on,
Moves but to aid the overwhelming dash
That wave and wind can muster, when the might
Of earth, and air, and sea, and sky unite.	10

So science whisper’d in thy charmed ear,
And radiant learning beckon’d thee away.
The breeze was music to thee, and the clear
Beam of thy morning promised a bright day.
And they have wreck’d thee!—But there is a shore	15
Where storms are hush’d, where tempests never rage;
Where angry skies and blackening seas, no more
With gusty strength their roaring warfare wage.
By thee its peaceful margent shall be trod—
Thy home is Heaven, and thy friend is God.	20

Note 1. The loss of Professor Fisher of Yale College, in the Albion. [back]