Classic and Contemporary Poetry
IN THE BATTELL HEMLOCKS, by FREDERICK LEWIS PATTEE Poet's Biography First Line: Deep in the northern lands Last Line: Hail, brother hemlock tree! Subject(s): Hemlocks | ||||||||
Deep in the Northern Lands Where mountains are, and man may be alone, Where nothing breaks the silence save the moan Of slumbering forests and the eagle's cry Above the peaks that lone and nameless lie, Vast, shaggy, wild, unscathed by human hands A hemlock forest stands. So black it is and drear, 'T is dark at mid-day, and at night there shines no star; And save the owl's, heard weirdly from afar, Within its deeps no voice of beast or bird, And on its velvet floors no sound is heard Save when at fearsome noon the timorous deer May seek a refuge here. Long may the deadly fire And deadlier axe be far, for in my soul I love the hemlock with his shaggy bole, His wild grotesquery, and his daintiness In days of June, his glorious summer dress, His head among the clouds, his call ... "Aspire! The hills are highbe higher!" I too would fly to thee, O sheltering hemlock, brother of my soul, Beneath thy dome I hear the organ roll Of worlds unknown. I too would fight Like thee the blast, the coming winter night, With thee my soul awakes and I am free! Hail, brother hemlock tree! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CHARADE: 6 by FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL TO A CROW IN FEBRUARY by CAROLINE M. LORD THE WIND IN THE HEMLOCK by SARA TEASDALE BONUS by ARCHIE RANDOLPH AMMONS IN THE RANGITAKI VALLEY by KATHERINE MANSFIELD WEDDING BED IN MANGKUTANA by KAREN SWENSON AN EPITAPH ON M.H. by CHARLES COTTON WRAITH by EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY |
|