IMITAT[I]ON from Jeremiah Chap XXXI. Ver 15. Nov:

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IMITAT[I]ON
from Jeremiah Chap XXXI. Ver 15.
Nov:r 1800. [1] 

Hark the voice of loud lament
Sounds thro' Ramah's saddened plain,
There cherished grief, there pining discontent,
And desolation reign.
There, 'mid her weeping train,5
See Rachel for her children mourn,
Disconsolate, forlorn!
The comforter she will not hear
And from his soothing strains all hopeless turns her ear.
Daughter of Affliction peace10
Let at last thy sorrows cease,
Wipe thy sadly streaming eye,
Look up; Behold thy children nigh!
Lo! thy vows have all been heard!
See how vainly thou hast feared,15
See from the destroyer's land,
Comes thy loved lamented band:
Free from all their conquered foes
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Glorious shall they seek repose;
Surest hope for thee remains,20
Smile at all thy former pains;
Joy shall with thy children come
And all thy smiling bowers shall bloom.
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Notes

[1] EDITOR'S NOTE: "Imitation from Jeremiah Chap XXXI. Ver 15. Nov:r 1800" is printed in Psyche, with Other Poems (undated). Tighe's verse covers Jeremiah 31.15-17, which promises the restoration of Rachel's children, a prophecy that would have resonated powerfully in November 1800 for Ireland: “Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border” (KJV). BACK

Verses Transcribed for H.T.
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