Regret
Long ago I wished to leave“The house where I was born;”Long ago I used to grieve,My home seemed so forlorn.In other years, its silent roomsWere filled with haunting fears;Now, their very memory comesO’ercharged with tender tears.
Life and marriage I have known.Things once deemed so bright;Now, how utterly is flownEvery ray of light!‘Mid the unknown sea, of lifeI no blest isle have found;At last, through all its wild wave’s strife,My bark is homeward bound.
Farewell, dark and rolling deep!Farewell, foreign shore!Open, in unclouded sweep,Thou glorious realm before!Yet, though I had safely pass’dThat weary, vexed main,One loved voice, through surge and blastCould call me back again.
Though the soul’s bright morning roseO’er Paradise for me,William! even from Heaven’s reposeI’d turn, invoked by thee!Storm nor surge should e’er arrestMy soul, exalting then:All my heaven was once thy breast,Would it were mine again!