[THE TASK.]
(Jan. 20) [1813?]
The Task is dull; but I was taught
Myself, and ’tis a debt I owe
To those who [seek the] truths I sought,
The Knowledge I have gain’d to shew.
In many a dull and drowsy lad
I strove to wake the slumbering Soul,
And raise what faculties he had
By patient Care and mild Controul.
And, when there came a sprightly boy,
As ardent was the Task; for still 10
He relished not the grave Employ,
Nor to his duty bent his Will.