To the Glow-Worm

Gem of this lone and silent vale,
Treasure of evening's pensive hour!
I come thy fairy rays to hail,
I come a votive strain to pour.

Nor chilly damps, nor paths untrod,
Shall from thy shrine my footsteps fright;
Thy lamp shall guide me o'er the sod,
And cheer the gathering mists of night.

Again thy yellow fire impart;….
Lo! planets shed a mimic day;
Lo! vivid meteors round me dart;
On western clouds red lightnings play!

But I disdain these garish fires
Sporting on evening's sultry wing;
Thy humbler light my eye admires,
Thy soft retiring charms I sing.

Thine is an unobtrusive blaze,
Content in lowly shades to shine;
And much I wish, while thus I gaze,
To make thy modest merit mine.

For, long by youth's wild wishes cast
On the false world's tempestuous sea,
I seek retirement's shore at last,
And find a monitor in thee.