SONNET
WRITTEN AT NETLEY ABBEY.
WHY should I fear the spirits of the dead ?
What if they wander at the hour of night,
Amid these sacred walls, with silent tread,
And dimly visible to mortal sight !
What if they ride upon the wandering gale,
And with low sighs alarm the listening ear;
Or swell a deep, a sadly-sounding wail,
Like solemn dirge of death ! why should I fear?
No ! seated on some fragment of rude stone,
While through the Ash-trees waving o'er my head
The wild winds pour their melancholy moan,
My soul, by fond imagination led,
Shall muse on days and years for ever flown,
And hold mysterious converse with the dead !
