Grows to perfection here, and spreads his crest; His diadem toward the parent sun; His diadem, in fiery blossoms drest, Stands arm'd with swords from potent nature won. 43 Yon' cotton shrubs with bursting knobs behold, Their snow white locks these humble groves array; On slender trees the blushing coffee hangs Like thy fair cherry, and would tempt thy stay. 44 Safe from the winds, in deep retreats, they rise; Their utmost summit may thy arm attain; Taste the moist fruit, and from thy closing eyes Sleep shall retire, with all his drowsy train. 45 The spicy berry, they güava call, Swells in the mountains on a stripling tree; These some admire, and value more than all, My humble verse, besides, unfolds to thee. 46 The smooth white cedar, here, delights the eye, The bay-tree, with its aromatic green, The sea-side grapes, sweet natives of the sand, And pulse, of various kinds, on trees are seen. 47 Here mingled vines that downward shadows cast, Here, cluster'd grapes from loaded boughs depend, Their leaves no frosts, their fruits no cold winds blast, But, rear'd by suns, to time alone they bend. 48 The plantane and banana flourish here, Of hasty growth, and love to fix their root Where some soft stream of ambling water flows, To yield full moisture to their cluster'd fruit. 49 No other trees so vast a leaf can boast, So broad, so long--through these refresh'd I stray, And though the noon-sun all his radiance shed, These friendly leaves shall shade me all the way, 50 And tempt the cooling breeze to hasten there, With its sweet odorous breath to charm the grove; High shades and verdant seats, while underneath A little stream by mossy banks doth rove, 51 Where once the Indian dames slept with their swains, Or fondly kiss'd the moon-light eves away; The lovers fled, the tearful stream remains, And only I console it with my lay. 52 Among the shades of yonder whispering grove The green palmittoes mingle, tall and fair, That ever murmur, and forever move, Fanning with wavy bough the ambient air. 53 Pomegranates grace the wild, and sweet-sops there Ready to fall, require thy helping hand, Nor yet neglect the papaw or mamee Whose slighted trees with fruits unheeded stand. 54 Those shaddocks juicy shall thy taste delight, And yon' high fruits, the richest of the wood, That cling in clusters to the mother tree, The cocoa-nut; rich, milky, healthful food. 55 O grant me, gods, if yet condemn'd to stray, At least to spend life's sober evening here, To plant a grove where winds yon' shelter'd bay, And pluck these fruits that frost nor winter fear. 56 Cassada shrubs abound--transplanted here From every clime, exotic blossoms blow; Here Asia plants her flowers, here Europe seeds, And hyperborean plants, un-winter'd, grow. 57