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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
HILLSIDE COT, by WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING (1817-1901) Poet's Biography
First Line: And here the hermit sat, and told his beads
Alternate Author Name(s): Channing Ii, William Ellery
Subject(s): Hermits
First Line: And here the hermit sat, and told his beads
Alternate Author Name(s): Channing Ii, William Ellery
Subject(s): Hermits
And here the hermit sat, and told his beads,
And stroked his flowing locks, red as the fire,
Summed up his tale of moon and sun and star:
"How blest are we," he deemed, "who so comprise
The essence of the whole, and of ourselves,
As in a Venice flask of lucent shape,
Ornate of gilt Arabic, and inscribed
With Suras from Time's Koran, live and pray,
More than half grateful for the glittering prize,
Human existence! If I note my powers,
So poor and frail a toy, the insect's prey,
Itched by a berry, festered by a plum,
The very air infecting my thin frame
With its malarial trick, whom every day
Rushes upon and hustles to the grave,
Yet raised, by the great love that broods o'er all
Responsive, to a height beyond all thought!"
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