Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, BEFORE TAMALPAIS, by ARTHUR PETERSON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

BEFORE TAMALPAIS, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Over tamalpais the sun / sinks, his daily journey done
Last Line: And be happy while we may.
Subject(s): California


1.

Over Tamalpais the sun
Sinks, his daily journey done;
And the waters of the bay
Stretch -- a topaz sea -- away;
As we stand upon the heath,
With the silent world beneath.

2.

Lady, standing, lingering here,
Sweet it is to feel thee near;
From my heart a silent prayer
Rises through the golden air;
Gone the parting and the tear,
Gone the months of exile drear;
Over land and over sea
Hath the Father guided me;
Now once more I see thy face
Shining in its wonted place;
And my wanderer's spirit thrills
As the California hills --
Purple hills of Paradise --
Round about me once more rise!

3.

Lady, let us think no more
What the future has in store;
In the hands of God it is,
With its sorrow or its bliss;
Let us leave it, then, to Him,
Though it fronts us vague and dim;
Let us, standing on this heath,
With the silent world beneath,
Think, dear friend, but of to-day,
And be happy while we may.





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