To Mother

When by my solitary hearth I sit
And hateful thoughts enwrap my soul in gloom
When no fair dreams before my mind’s eye flit
And the bare heath of life presents no bloom
O mother, ethereal balm upon me shed
And wave your silver pinions over my head.

Whenever the fate of those I hold most dear
Tells to my fearful heart a tale of sorrow
O sweetest mother , my morbid fancy cheer
Let me awhile your sweetest comforts borrow
Your heaven-born radiance around me shed
And wave your silver pinions o’er my head.

Should ever with unhappiness my bosom pain
From cruel love, or a bitter affair
O let me think it is only quite in vain
To shed tears in the midnight air!
O mother, your sweet love upon me shed
And endow your sweet caresses over my head.