And worshipped, while the husbandmen withdrewFrom the scorched field, and the wayfaring manGrew faint, and turned aside by bubbling fount,Or rested in the shadow of the palm.I, too, amid the overflow of day,Behold the power which wields and cherishesThe frame of Nature. From this brow of rockThat overlooks the Hudson’s western marge,I gaze upon the…
The hunter of the west must goIn depth of woods to seek the deer.His rifle on his shoulder placed,His stores of death arranged with skill,His moccasins and snow-shoes laced,–Why lingers he beside the hill?Far, in the dim and doubtful light,Where woody slopes a valley leave,He sees what none but lover might,The dwelling of his Genevieve.And…
Among the nations. How the rushing wavesBear all before them! On their foremost edge,And there alone, is Life. The Present thereTosses and foams, and fills the air with roarOf mingled noises. There are they who toil,And they who strive, and they who feast, and theyWho hurry to and fro. The sturdy swain—Woodman and delver with…
Beneath the verdure of the plain,The warrior’s scattered bones away.Pay the deep reverence, taught of old,The homage of man’s heart to death;Nor dare to trifle with the mouldOnce hallowed by the Almighty’s breath.The soul hath quickened every part–That remnant of a martial brow,Those ribs that held the mighty heart,That strong arm–strong no longer now.Spare them,…
And the empty realms of darkness and deathWere moved through their depths by his mighty breath,And orbs of beauty and spheres of flameFrom the void abyss by myriads came, –In the joy of youth as they darted away,Through the widening wastes of space to play,Their silver voices in chorus rung,And this was the song of…
And now the mould is heaped aboveThe dearest and the last!Bride! who dost wear the widow’s veilBefore the wedding flowers are pale!Ye deem the human heart enduresNo deeper, bitterer grief than yours.Yet there are pangs of keener wo,Of which the sufferers never speak,Nor to the world’s cold pity showThe tears that scald the cheek,Wrung from…
And June its roses–showers and sunshine bring,Slowly, the deepening verdure o’er the earth;To put their foliage out, the woods are slack,And one by one the singing-birds come back.Within the city’s bounds the time of flowersComes earlier. Let a mild and sunny day,Such as full often, for a few bright hours,Breathes through the sky of March…
And made the darkness glorious! I have seenYour rays grow dim upon the horizon’s edge,And sink behind the mountains. I have seenThe great Orion, with his jewelled belt,That large-limbed warrior of the skies, go downInto the gloom. Beside him sank a crowdOf shining ones. I look in vain to findThe group of sister-stars, which mothers…
Merrily swinging on briar and weed,Near to the nest of his little dame,Over the mountain-side or mead,Robert of Lincoln is telling his name;Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,Spink, spank, spink;Snug and safe in that nest of ours,Hidden among the summer flowers.Chee, chee, chee.Robert of Lincoln is gayly dressed.Wearing a bright black wedding-coat;White are his shoulders and white his crest,Hear…
That gleam in baldricks blue,Nor nodding plumes in caps of Fez,Of gay and gaudy hue–But, habited in mourning weeds,Come marching from afar,By four and four, the valiant menWho fought with Aliatar.All mournfully and slowlyThe afflicted warriors come,To the deep wail of the trumpet,And beat of muffled drum.The banner of the Phenix,The flag that loved the…
