Oft let me wander, at the break of day, Through the cool vale o'erhung with waving woods, Drink the rich fragrance of the budding May, And catch the murmur of the distant floods; Or rest on the fresh bank of limpid rill, Where sleeps the violet in the dewy shade, Where opening lilies balmy sweets distill, And the wild musk-rose weeps along the glade: Or climb the eastern cliff, whose airy head Hangs rudely o'er the blue and misty main; Watch the fine hues of morn through ether spread, And paint with roseate glow the crystal plain. Oh! who can speak the rapture of the soul When o'er the waves the sun first steals to sight, And all the world of waters, as they roll, And Heaven's vast vault unveils in living light! So life's young hour to man enchanting smiles, With sparkling health, and joy, and fancy's fairy wiles! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE FIRST VOYAGE OF JOHN CABOT [1497] by KATHARINE LEE BATES TO MY DEAR AND LOVING HUSBAND by ANNE BRADSTREET WHEN I'M KILLED by ROBERT RANKE GRAVES IN THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH; 1677 by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER THE ONE WHITE ROSE by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH IF THE WORLD WERE RIGHT by LOUISA SARAH BEVINGTON |