Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TO COLE, THE PAINTER, DEPARTING FOR EUROPE, by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT


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TO COLE, THE PAINTER, DEPARTING FOR EUROPE, by             Poem Explanation     Poet's Biography
First Line: Thine eyes shall see the light of distant skies
Last Line: But keep that earlier, wilder image bright.
Variant Title(s): Sonnet--to An American Painter Departing For Europe
Subject(s): Americans In Europe; Cole, Thomas (1801-1848); Paintings & Painters


THINE eyes shall see the light of distant skies:
Yet, COLE! thy heart shall bear to Europe's strand
A living image of thy native land,
Such as on thy own glorious canvass lies.
Lone lakes -- savannas where the bison roves --
Rocks rich with summer garlands -- solemn streams --
Skies, where the desert eagle wheels and screams --
Spring bloom and autumn blaze of boundless groves.
Fair scenes shall greet thee where thou goest -- fair,
But different -- everywhere the trace of men,
Paths, homes, graves, ruins, from the lowest glen
To where life shrinks from the fierce Alpine air.
Gaze on them, till the tears shall dim thy sight,
But keep that earlier, wilder image bright.





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