Twilight Musing

I’m sitting by the hearthstone now,
  And my heart is lone and drear;
It seems as though the autumn blast
  Had left its impress there.
As memory, backward, wends its way,
  Unfolding to my gaze
Those joyful hours of “Auld Lang Syne,”
  Those lights of by-gone days.

I’m musing on the past, when I
  In childhood’s thoughtless play,
Reveled in gladness, joy and mirth,
  Nor deemed one saddening ray
Should ever cloud my gladsome heart,
  Or cause deep sorrow’s moan⁠—
Ne’er dreaming of the time, alas!
  When I’d be quite alone.

I’ve listened to the morning’s song
  Of nature’s feathered gems,
Long ere Aurora’s roseate hue
  Illumined Orient’s realms,
And as their carols wafted high
  On balmy zephyrs borne,
’Tis then I muse, and sadly feel,
  That I am quite alone.

I’ve never heard the ocean’s roar,
  Or felt its quivering thrill;
Nor, on stern Neptune’s bosom been,
  When all was calm and still⁠—
But o’er my heart, at times, there are
  Such stormy billows borne,
That then I sadly, truly feel,
  That I am quite alone.