Convalescence

Good cheer to thee my goodly Niece!
     In cruel bondage held so long;
Rejoicing in thy glad release
     My heart goes dancing into song!
Escaped the clutches of the Foe
     Whose talons left a tingling sear,
How welcome all the winds that blow,
     The greening fields, & sun & star!
There’s glory in the Great Outdoors;
     There’s music in the boundless air,—
From all that buzzes, hums, or roars,
     Around thee, out of Everywhere!
Was ever sky so softly blue?
     Were ever clouds so pearly white?
Seems not the whole world made anew
     And but to breathe, a keen delight?
Blue-eyed Hygeä, the buxom Miss,
     Will meet thee under open skies,
And greet thee with so warm a kiss
     The blush will mantle to thine eyes!
And I, though envying sweet Hygeä,
     Will not the less rejoice with thee,
To bless whom is the fond idea
     Of thy Good Angel, — & of Me!

Thy languid step Roll bound again,
     Elastic as the nimble fawn;
They blue eyes brightly beam, as when
     They lit thy rosy Woman’s dawn.
While now the May-buds pout & reek [?],
     And birds their morning carols sing,
The fresh re-blooming of thy cheek
     Is sweetest of the flowers of Spring!
So deems thy Poet gray & old;
     So deem thy lovers young & fair;
Matron & maid, & all who hold
     Sweet [?] kindship with thy silvery hair!

Thy tortures were not quite in vain;
     They woke a tenderer mood in us,
As April’s chilly wind & rain
     In mellow May breathe odorous.
When bitter fate’s oppressions cease
    Our common gifts are doubly dear,
As after warfare, simple peace
     Seems very Heaven brought kindly near!
Then cheer to thee, escaped the rack
     Of Satan’s malice, as of old,
So may thy loss be rendered back
     In bliss, twofold & manifold!

The patience, so renowned, of Job,
     Was ?? compared with thine!
This howling would have stunned the globe
     With that carbuncle on his opine!
The Muse to thee awards the crown
     Of gold, wrought deftly at her forge,
For sweetness under trial shown,
     Whereto – Attest thy Uncle George!