A Lament for Nature

O sweet Nature! thus I bemoan, For you, whose songs are soft and low; Whose flowers and streams have gently grown, To teach the soul from pain to know.

I stand beside the tranquil stream, Where sunlight dances on its flow; I watch the flowers in their dream, And feel the peace that you bestow.

Yet in my heart a longing stirs, For time has wings to swiftly fly; It carries with it peace and hers, For in the past, with you, we sigh.

• Thomas Woolner