Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, YOSEMITE, by CINCINNATUS HEINE MILLER


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

YOSEMITE, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Sound! Sound! Sound!
Last Line: Waves us onward and. . . We go.
Alternate Author Name(s): Miller, Joaquin
Variant Title(s): In Yosemite Valley
Subject(s): Yosemite Valley And National Park


Sound! sound! sound!
O colossal walls and crown'd
In one eternal thunder!
Sound! sound! sound!
O ye oceans overhead,
While we walk, subdued in wonder,
In the ferns and grasses, under
And beside the swift Merced!

Fret! fret! fret!
Streaming, sounding banners, set
On the giant granite castles
In the clouds and in the snow!
But the foe he comes not yet, --
We are loyal, valiant vassals,
And we touch the trailing tassels
Of the banners far below.

Surge! surge! surge!
From the white Sierra's verge,
To the very valley blossom.
Surge! surge! surge!
Yet the song-bird builds a home,
And the mossy branches cross them,
And the tasselled tree-tops toss them
In the clouds of falling foam.

Sweep! sweep! sweep!
O ye heaven-born and deep,
In one dread, unbroken chorus!
We may wonder or may weep, --
We may wait on God before us;
We may shout or lift a hand, --
We may bow down and deplore us,
But may never understand.

Beat! beat! beat!
We advance, but would retreat
From this restless, broken breast
Of the earth in a convulsion.
We would rest, but dare not rest,
For the angel of expulsion
From this Paradise below
Waves us onward and. . . we go.





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