Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

HYPERBOREANS by THOMAS MOORE

First Line: I COME FROM A LAND IN THE SUN-BRIGHT DEEP
I COME from a land in the sun- bright deep,
Where golden gardens grow;
Where the winds of the north, becalmed in sleep,
Their conch- shells never blow.
Haste to that holy Isle with me,
Haste - haste!


So near the track of the stars are we,
That oft on night's pale beams
The distant sounds of their harmony
Come to our ear, like dreams .
Then haste to that holy Isle with me, etc.
The Moon too brings her world so nigh,
That when the night- seer looks
To that shadowless orb, in a vernal sky,
He can number its hills and brooks.
Then, haste, etc.


To the Sun-god all our hearts and lyres
By day, by night, belong;
And the breath we draw from his living fires,
We give him back in song.
Then, haste, etc.


From us descends the maid who brings
To Delos gifts divine;
And our wild bees lend their rainbow wings
To glitter on Delphi's shrine.
Then haste to that holy Isle with me,
Haste - haste!


"POET'S NOTE: Hecat…us tells us that Hyperborean island was dedicated to Apollo; and
most of the inhabitants were either priests or songsters.




Home: PoetryExplorer.net