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! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE HOUSE BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD by SAM WALTER FOSS LESSER EPISTLES: TO A LADY ON HER PASSION FOR OLD CHINA by JOHN GAY THEOCRITUS; A VILLANELLE by OSCAR WILDE NIOBE: THE GODS' CHILDREN by AESCHYLUS THE BROKEN PITCHER by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT THE HAPPY LAND by HARRY RANDOLPH BLYTHE |