SONNET
TO
THE
TORRID
ZONE
.
PATHWAY
of
light
!
o'er
thy
empurpled
zone
,
With
lavish
charms
,
perennial
summer
strays
;
Soft
'midst
thy
spicy
groves
the
zephyr
plays
,
While
far
around
the
rich
perfumes
are
thrown
;
The
Amadavid-bird
for
thee
alone
Spreads
his
gay
plumes
,
that
catch
thy
vivid
rays
;
For
thee
the
gems
with
liquid
lustre
blaze
,
And
Nature's
various
wealth
is
all
thy
own
.
But
ah
!
not
thine
is
Twilight's
doubtful
gloom
,
Those
mild
gradations
,
mingling
day
with
night
;
Here
instant
darkness
shrouds
thy
genial
bloom
,
Nor
leaves
my
pensive
soul
that
ling'ring
light
,
When
musing
Mem'ry
would
each
trace
resume
Of
fading
pleasures
in
successive
flight
.