Ode To Memory

O, MEMORY! thou, whose silent hand,
With magic influence can command
To life each vanish'd hour;
'Tis thine to bid deep Thought survey
The former years in due array,
And aid Reflection's pow'r.
When tranquil Solitude Surrounds,
And nought that solemn silence wounds,
Which prompts the pensive sigh,
Thou bold'st thy retrospective glass,
And bid'st our lost delights repass,
On musing Fancy's eye:
Whate'er of rapture charm'd the breast,
When virtuous Friendship's powers imprest
Those joys too swiftly fled;
Or when the mind with books retired,
By ardent Emulation fired,
Th' enchanting page has read.
What solid bliss thy step pursues,
Whene'er the mental sight reviews
The moments well employ'd;
In vain Distress her poniard wields,
Each blameless act a pleasure yields,
That ne'er can be destroy'd.
E'en griefs that torture whilst they last,
A pleasing form assume when past,
Thro' thy perspective shown;
How must the blest, with joys elate,
Review their transient earthly state,
Whose ills no more are known!
Remorse alone can give thy dart
Its keenest point to pierce the heart,
When her dark hand she rears;
'Tis then thou bid'st the bosom bleed,
When at thy call each guilty deed
In Terror's robe appears.
How must those minds be rack'd with woe,
Who feel thy sting their constant foe,
While endless ages roll!
Condemn'd to Heav'n's eternal ire,
The deathless worm, the quenchless fire,
That still corrodes the soul.