Part 2 — THE INVITATION.
Reading edition
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BY E. G. MALLERY.
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Come, altho’ fair is thy southern clime,
Where the sea-breeze fanneth thy cheek,
And the stars come forth at the vesper chime,
With a beauty no tongue may speak;
Tho’ the moon-beam slumbers upon thy brow
As it slumbered in hours of yore;
And the night bird’s song has the same tone now
In thy life’s bright spring that it bore;
Come, tho’ from streamlet, from hill, and from plain,
Rush a thousand fond memories forth,
And cluster around thy light step to detain—
Oh! come to our home in the North!
They tell you how bleak is our northern sky
When the storm-spirit spreadeth his wings;
How his shout is heard from the mountain high,
How in glee thro’ the valley it rings:
How his strong hand bows the proud old oak,
And in sport uprooteth the pine;
How he folds the hills in his spotless cloak,
And the groves with his brilliants shine:
How his breath enchaineth the rolling tide,
And bids the chaf’d torrent be still,
Then dashes away in his might and his pride,
And laughs that they heeded his will!
They tell you our birds at the Autumn’s breath,
When the flow’rs droop over their tomb,
Are off to the land where they meet no death,
And the orange-trees ever more bloom.
Tell them we ask not affection so slight
That at fortune’s first frown it is o’er,
And we’re certain again when our skies become bright
They’ll flutter around us once more,
And tell them there grows on our mountain crest
A plant which no winter can fade—
And, as changeless, the love of a northern breast,
Blooms ever in sunshine and shade!
Come, and we’ll teach you when Summer is fled,
And the rich robe of Autumn withdrawn,
To welcome old Winter, whose hoary head
Is bow’d ’neath his sparkling crown;
For soon as his whistle is heard from afar
Commanding the winds round his throne,
And echoes in distance the roll of his car,
We encircle the joyous hearth-stone;
And eyes brighter flash, and cheeks deeper glow,—
The voice of the song gushes forth,
And ceaseless and light is each heart’s happy flow—
Oh! come to our home in the North!
Wyoming, 1841.