Composed 1835.--Published 1838
[The sad condition of poor Mrs. Southey[55] put me upon writing this. It has afforded comfort to many persons whose friends have been similarly affected.--I.F.]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--ED.
Oh what a Wreck! how changed in mien and speech!
Yet--though dread Powers, that work in mystery, spin
Entanglings of[56] the brain; though shadows stretch
O'er the chilled heart--reflect; far, far within
Hers is a holy Being, freed from Sin.
She is not what she seems, a forlorn wretch,
But delegated Spirits comfort fetch
To Her from heights that Reason may not win.
Like Children, She is privileged to hold
Divine communion;[57] both do live and move,
Whate'er to shallow Faith their ways unfold,
Inly illumined by Heaven's pitying love;
Love pitying innocence not long to last,
In them--in Her our sins and sorrows past.
[55] Mrs. Southey died 16th November 1837. She had long been an invalid. See Southey's Life and Correspondence, vol. vi. p. 347.--ED.
[56] 1842.
... for ...
1838.
[57] Compare a remark of Wordsworth's that he never saw those with mind unhinged, but he thought of the words, "Life hid in God." It is a curious oriental belief that idiots are in closer communion with the infinite than the sane are.--ED.
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THE POETICAL WORKS OF WILLIAM WORDSWORTH, VOL. 8 (Completed)
PoetryThe Poetical Works of William Wordsworth, Vol. 8. Edited by William Knight
