Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, OVER THE MOUNTAIN, by ADELAIDE ANNE PROCTER


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

OVER THE MOUNTAIN, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Like dreary prison walls
Last Line: O beating heart, be still!
Alternate Author Name(s): Berwick, Mary
Subject(s): Death; Dreams; Hearts; Mountains; Dead, The; Nightmares; Hills; Downs (great Britain)


LIKE dreary prison walls
The stern, gray mountains rise,
Until their topmost crags
Touch the far gloomy skies:
One steep and narrow path
Winds up the mountain's crest,
And from our valley leads
Out to the golden West.

I dwell here in content,
Thankful for tranquil days;
And yet my eyes grow dim,
As still I gaze and gaze
Upon that mountain pass,
That leads -- or so it seems --
To some far happy land,
Known in a world of dreams.

And as I watch that path
Over the distant hill,
A foolish longing comes
My heart and soul to fill,
A painful, strange desire
To break some weary bond;
A vague unuttered wish
For what might lie beyond!

In that far world unknown,
Over that distant hill,
May dwell the loved and lost,
Lost -- yet beloved still;
I have a yearning hope,
Half longing, and half pain,
That by that mountain pass
They may return again.
Space may keep friends apart,
Death has a mighty thrall;
There is another gulf
Harder to cross than all;
Yet watching that far road,
My heart beats full and fast:
If they should come once more,
If they should come at last!

See, down the mountain-side
The silver vapors creep;
They hide the rocky cliffs,
They hide the craggy steep,
They hide the narrow path
That comes across the hill: --
O foolish longing, cease,
O beating Heart, be still!





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