  Supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk, during his solitary abode in the island of Juan Fernandez I am monarch of all I survey, My right there is none to dispute; From the centre all round to the sea, I am lord of the fowl and the brute. O Solitude! where are the charms That sages have seen in thy face? Better dwell in the midst of alarms Than reign in this horrible place. I am out of humanity's reach, I must finish my journey alone, Never hear the sweet music of speech, I start at the sound of my own. The beasts that roam over the plain My form with indifference see; They are so unacquainted with man, Their tameness is shocking to me. Society, friendship and love, Divinely bestowed upon man, O, had I the wings of a dove, How soon would I taste you again! My sorrows I then might assuage, In the ways of religion and truth, Might learn from the wisdom of age, And be cheer'd by the sallies of youth. Religion! what treasure untold Lies hid in that heavenly word! Or all that this earth can afford. But the sound of the church-going bell, These valleys and rocks never heard, Never sigh'd at the sound of a knell, Or smiled when a sabbath appear'd. Ye winds that have made me your sport, Convey to this desolate shore Some cordial, endearing report Of a land I shall visit no more. My friends, do they now and then send A wish or a thought after me? O, tell me I yet have a friend, Though a friend I am never to see. How fleet is a glance of the mind! Compar'd with the speed of its flight, The tempest himself lags behind And the swift-winged arrows of light. When I think of my own native land, In a moment I seem to be there; But, alas! recollection at hand Soon hurries me back to despair. But the sea-fowl is gone to her nest, The beast is laid down in his lair; Even here is a season of rest, And I to my cabin repair. There's mercy in every place, And mercy, encouraging thought, Gives even affliction a grace, And reconciles man to his lot. W. Cowper |
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