Our western land can boast no lovelier spot. The hills which in their ancient grandeur stand Piled to the frowning clouds, the bulwarks seem Of this wild scene, resolved that none but Heaven Shall look upon its beauty. Round their breast A curtained fringe depends, of golden mist, Touched by the slanting sunbeams; while below The silent river, with majestic sweep, Pursues his shadowed way -- his glassy face Unbroken, save when stoops the lone wild swan To float in pride, or dip his ruffled wing. Talk ye of solitude? It is not here. Nor silence. Low, deep murmurs are abroad. Those towering hills hold converse with the sky That smiles upon their summits; and the wind Which stirs their wooded sides whispers of life, And bears the burden sweet from leaf to leaf, Bidding the stately forest-boughs look bright, And nod to greet his coming! And the brook, That with its silvery gleam comes leaping down From the hillside, has, too, a tale to tell; The wild bird's music mingles with its chime; And gay young flowers, that blossom in its path, Send forth their perfume as an added gift. The river utters, too, a solemn voice, And tells of deeds long past, in ages gone, When not a sound was heard along his shores, Save the wild tread of savage feet, or shriek Of some expiring captive, and no bark E'er cleft his gloomy waters. Now, his waves Are vocal often with the hunter's song; Now visit, in their glad and onward course, The abodes of happy men -- gardens and fields, And cultured plains -- still bearing, as they pass, Fertility renewed and fresh delights. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE JOYS OF THE ROAD by BLISS CARMAN THE HEART OF A WOMAN by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON VERSES WRITTEN IN AN ALBUM OF A LADY'S COMMON-PLACE BOOK by THOMAS MOORE NATURAL HISTORY by MOTHER GOOSE ASTROPHEL AND STELLA: 32 by PHILIP SIDNEY BUILDING BLOCKS by VIRGINIA A. ALLIN |