Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE LONELY PEAKS, by VICTOR MARIE HUGO



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE LONELY PEAKS, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The summit is deserted, is gloomy, inclement
Last Line: And brought to the summit and left here alone.
Subject(s): Solitude; Loneliness


The summit is deserted, is gloomy, inclement;
Black pits engulf it. To the far horizon
Naught greets the eye save solitude eternal,
And far-spreading winter. And yet, O Lord, there are
The prints of bare feet—men have been here before me!
There are irons and bones—I have seen these before!
I was below, with mine eyes fixed on the mountain;
Two beings passed while my face was upturned.
Their countenance glowed as the sun of the morning;
They were strangers to me, as they shone through their garments,
But the starlight I saw in the glance of their eye.
And one seemed most frank, and one somewhat prouder,
And one, as they walked on together, said low:
"Believe!" and the other: "Think!" and I wondered.
And the brow of the one bore the single word: Conscience.
On the brow of the other glowed the single word: Truth.
On them fed my glances, moved by their beauty;
These stern beings then gave me signal to rise—
And them did I follow, 'tis they who have led me
And brought to the summit and left here alone.





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