[Skip Navigation]

Poetry Archives

A continuing selection of classic and contemporary poems.

To Margaret Jane H——, On Her Birth-Day, 17 June

Thomas Gent

Thou art indeed a lovely flower,
And I, just like the fleeting hour,
Which few will heed on folly’s brink,
So rarely deigns the world to think.
Yet, ere I go, child of my heart—
One faithful offering I’ll impart
To thee—thy parents’ sole delight:
To me—an angel, pure as light.
Sent on this earth to cheer and bless,
Like sunbeam in a wilderness,
With fascination’s form and face,
And all the charms that please and grace.
A guileless heart, a lovely mind,
A temper ardent, yet refined,
And in the early dawn of youth,
Taught to love honour, faith, and truth.

Ah! these—when all the transient joys
Of idle life, when all its toys
Shall fade like mist before the sun,
Yet, ere thy little day is done,
Shall give that calm, that true delight,
Which gilds the darkling hues of night,
The sunset of a well spent day,
A glorious immortality!
Online text © 1998-2008 Poetry X. All rights reserved.
From Poems | 1828
Add Keyword Tags

Separate each tag with a space. You may add as many tags as you'd like to each poem.

What are tags?
Tags, sometimes called “folksonomies,” are words that describe or categorize a poem, like “20th century modernism” or “Italian sonnet”. Tags can help you find poems that have something in common, based on how other people classify them.

More Info

This site will work and look better in a browser that supports web standards, but it is accessible to any Internet device.