On the Departure of the Nightingale

By Charlotte Smith 1749–1806 Charlotte Smith

Sweet poet of the woods, a long adieu!

Farewell soft mistrel of the early year!

Ah! ’twill be long ere thou shalt sing anew,

And pour thy music on the night’s dull ear.

Whether on spring thy wandering flights await,

Or whether silent in our groves you dwell,

The pensive muse shall own thee for her mate,

And still protect the song she loves so well.

With cautious step the love-lorn youth shall glide

Through the lone brake that shades thy mossy nest;

And shepherd girls from eyes profane shall hide

The gentle bird who sings of pity best:

For still thy voice shall soft affections move,

And still be dear to sorrow and to love!

Biography

Charlotte Smith wrote Elegiac Sonnets in 1783 while she was in debtor’s prison with her husband and children. William Wordsworth identified her as an important influence on the Romantic movement. She published several longer works that celebrated the individual while deploring social injustice and the British class system.

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