Netley Abbey

William Lisle Bowles

Fallen pile! I ask not what has been thy fate;
But when the winds, slow wafted from the main,
Through each rent arch, like spirits that complain,
Come hollow to my ear, I meditate
On this world's passing pageant, and the lot
Of those who once majestic in their prime
Stood smiling at decay, till bowed by time
Or injury, their early boast forgot,
They may have fallen like thee! Pale and forlorn,
Their brow, besprent with thin hairs, white as snow,
They lift, still unsubdued, as they would scorn
This short-lived scene of vanity and woe;
Whilst on their sad looks smilingly they bear
The trace of creeping age, and the pale hue of care! 

Next 10 Poems

• William Lisle Bowles : O Poverty! Though From Thy Haggard Eye
• William Lisle Bowles : O Thou, Whose Stern Command And Precepts Pure
• William Lisle Bowles : On A Beautiful Landscape
• William Lisle Bowles : On A Distant View Of England
• William Lisle Bowles : On Hearing
• William Lisle Bowles : On The Funeral Of Charles The First
• William Lisle Bowles : On The Funeral Of Charles The First At Night, In St. George's Chapel, Windsor
• William Lisle Bowles : Sonnet: At Dover Cliffs, July 20th 1787
• William Lisle Bowles : Sonnet: At Ostend, July 22nd 1787
• William Lisle Bowles : Sonnet: July 18th 1787

Previous 10 Poems

• William Lisle Bowles : Languid, And Sad, And Slow, From Day To Day
• William Lisle Bowles : Ix. O Poverty! Though From Thy Haggard Eye...
• William Lisle Bowles : Iv. To The River Wenbeck
• William Lisle Bowles : In Youth
• William Lisle Bowles : In Age
• William Lisle Bowles : Iii. O Thou, Whose Stern Command And Precepts Pure...
• William Lisle Bowles : Ii. Written At Bamborough Castle.
• William Lisle Bowles : I. Written At Tinemouth, Northumberland, After A Tempestuous Voyage.
• William Lisle Bowles : Evening
• William Lisle Bowles : Bereavement