Written At A Convent

William Lisle Bowles

If chance some pensive stranger, hither led,
  His bosom glowing from majestic views,
  The gorgeous dome, or the proud landscape’s hues,
Should ask who sleeps beneath this lowly bed—
  ’Tis poor Matilda! To the cloister’d scene,
A mourner, beauteous and unknown, she came,
To shed her tears unseen; and quench the flame
  Of fruitless love: yet was her look serene
As the pale midnight on the moon-light isle—
  Her voice was soft, which e’en a charm could lend,
  Like that which spoke of a departed friend,
And a meek sadness sat upon her smile!
  Now here remov’d from ev’ry human ill,
  Her woes are buried, and her heart is still.

Next 10 Poems

• William Lisle Bowles : Written At Bamborough Castle
• William Lisle Bowles : Written At Ostend
• William Lisle Bowles : Written At Tinemouth, Northumberland, After A Tempestuous Voyage
• William Lisle Bowles : X. On Dover Cliffs.
• William Lisle Bowles : Xi. Written At Ostend
• William Lisle Bowles : Xii. Written At A Convent.
• William Lisle Bowles : Xiii. O Time! Who Know'st A Lenient Hand To Lay...
• William Lisle Bowles : Xiv. On A Distant View Of England.
• Anne Bradstreet : A Dialogue Between Old England And New
• Anne Bradstreet : A Letter To Her Husband

Previous 10 Poems

• William Lisle Bowles : Vii. At A Village In Scotland....
• William Lisle Bowles : Vi. Evening, As Slow Thy Placid Shades Descend...
• William Lisle Bowles : V. To The River Tweed.
• William Lisle Bowles : To The River Wenbeck
• William Lisle Bowles : To The River Tweed
• William Lisle Bowles : To The River Itchin, Near Winton
• William Lisle Bowles : To A Friend
• William Lisle Bowles : Time And Grief
• William Lisle Bowles : Sonnet: O Poverty! Though From Thy Haggard Eye
• William Lisle Bowles : Sonnet: Languid, And Sad, And Slow, From Day To Day