Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE HUDSON, by OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: Twas a vision of childhood that came with its dawn Last Line: Till the channel is dry where its waters have rolled! Subject(s): Hudson River | ||||||||
'T WAS a vision of childhood that came with its dawn, Ere the curtain that covered life's day-star was drawn; The nurse told the tale when the shadows grew long, And the mother's soft lullaby breathed it in song. "There flows a fair stream by the hills of the West," -- She sang to her boy as he lay on her breast; "Along its smooth margin thy fathers have played; Beside its deep waters their ashes are laid." I wandered afar from the land of my birth, I saw the old rivers, renowned upon earth, But fancy still painted that wide-flowing stream With the many-hued pencil of infancy's dream. I saw the green banks of the castle-crowned Rhine, Where the grapes drink the moonlight and change it to wine; I stood by the Avon, whose waves as they glide Still whisper his glory who sleeps at their side. But my heart would still yearn for the sound of the waves That sing as they flow by my forefathers' graves; If manhood yet honors my cheek with a tear, I care not who sees it, -- nor blush for it here! Farewell to the deep-bosomed stream of the West! I fling this loose blossom to float on its breast; Nor let the dear love of its children grow cold, Till the channel is dry where its waters have rolled! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ELEGY; FOR JAMES WRIGHT by GREGORY ORR BARGE LIGHTS ON THE HUDSON by DICK ALLEN THE HUDSON by GEORGE SIDNEY HELLMAN A SCENE ON THE BANKS OF THE HUDSON by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT DOBBS HIS FERRY; A LEGEND OF THE LOWER HUDSON by WILLIAM ALLEN BUTLER CHELSEA, 1860 by ARTHUR CLEVELAND COXE THE HUDSON by MARGETTA FAUGERES ON THE CITY ENCROACHMENTS ON THE RIVER HUDSON, 1800 by PHILIP FRENEAU GREAT IS DIANA OF THE MANNAHATTOES! by ARTHUR GUITERMAN A BALLAD OF THE BOSTON TEA-PARTY [DECEMBER 16, 1773] by OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES |
|